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art.stx  NK  7112.C8 

Early  silver  of  Connecticut  and  it 


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EARLY  SILVER  OF  CONNECTICUT 
AND  ITS  MAKERS 


By  GEORGE  MUNSON  CURTIS 


INTERNATIONAL  SILVER  CO. 

MERIDEN,  CONN. 

1913 


(Yv 

UK 


Copyright,  1913 
By  the  International  Silver  Co. 


The  B&rta  Press 
Boston  —  New  York 


EARLY   SILVER  OF   CONNECTICUT 
AND   ITS  MAKERS. 

O  those  who  are  lovers  of  old  plate, 
-*-  and  have  become  familiar  with  the 
various  shapes  and  designs  characteristic  of 
Colonial  days,  it  is  interesting  to  note  the 
slow  evolution  and  gradual  change  in 
church  and  domestic  silver  from  the  simple 
and  yet  beautiful  vessels  of  the  seventeenth 
century  to  the  more  elaborate  forms  and 
greater  variety  of  articles  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  which  the  growing  luxury  and 
more  complex  life  of  the  later  period 
demanded. 

Judging  by  the  examples  that  have  sur-  J 
vived,  silver  utensils  of  the  seventeenth 
century  were  limited  to  spoons,  the  caudle- 
cup,  the  beaker,  the  chalice,  or  standing 
cup,  the  tankard,  the  flagon,  and  what  are 
called  to-day  wine- tasters.  The  orna- 
mentation on  the  earliest  of  these  pieces 
suggests  the  conventional  flower  designs 
found  on  oak  furniture  of  the  same  period. 

The  old  inventories  and  wills,  however, 
give  us  a  list  of  articles  once  in  common 
use  which  are  doubtless  no  longer  in  exist- 
ence. 

[5] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT    AND     ITS   MAKERS 

Dr.  Gershom  Bulkeley  died  in  1713  in 
Glastonbury.  He  was  a  man  of  consider- 
able distinction  and  wealth.  By  the  terms 
of  his  will  he  bequeathed  to  a  son  a  silver 
retort  and  to  a  daughter  a  silver  cucurbit, 
a  species  of  retort,  shaped  like  a  gourd, 
used,  perhaps,  to  distil  perfumes  and 
essences,  once  the  duty  of  an  accomplished 
housewife. 

In  various  inventories  frequent  mention 
is  made  of  silver  dram-cups,  always  lower 
in  value  than  spoons.  They  were  minia- 
ture bowls  with  an  ear-shaped  handle  on 
each  side,  and  called  dram-cups  because 
they  comfortably  held  a  dram,  or  spoonful, 
and  were  used  for  taking  medicine.  Some- 
times they  were  of  pewter.  Modern  col- 
lectors have  called  them  wine-tasters,  which 
is  clearly  a  misnomer.  Our  ancestors  were 
not  wine -tasters :  they  drank  from  beakers, 
caudle-cups,  and  tankards. 

Other  articles  mentioned  are  silver  plat- 
ters and  punch-bowls,  whistles,  hair-pegs, 
seals,  bodkins,  thimbles,  clasps  with  glass 
centres,  chains  or  chatelaines  with  scissors 
and  other  articles  attached,  shoe  and  knee 
buckles,  and  last,  but  not  least,  silver  hat- 

[6] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT     AND     ITS     MAKERS 

bands,*  worn  only  by  those  who  affected  the 
highest  type  of  fashionable  attire.  Articles 
of  gold  were  toothpicks,  cuff-links,  stay- 
pins,  rings,  brooches,  buttons,  and  beads 
ad  libitum.  Doubtless  a  search  through 
other  inventories  would  reveal  many  other 
articles  of  silver  and  gold. 

In  the  eighteenth  century  the  colonist 
had  greater  wealth,  and  life  had  become 
more  formal,  and  luxury  more  common. 
As  a  result,  the  silversmith  had  increased 
the  variety  of  his  manufactures,  and  used 
more  elaborate  designs,  although  he  still 
clung  to  a  simplicity  of  line  and  form  that 
was  characteristic  of  all  early  industrial  art 
in  America. 

Although  the  earliest  known  silversmiths  / 
in  New  England  had  either  learned  their 
craft  in  England  or  been  taught  the  trade 
by  English  workmen,  there  was  no  attempt 
to  adopt  later  the  elaborate  baronial  de- 
signs of  the  mother  country.  Simpler 
forms  were  more  in  keeping  with  the  simple 
life  of  this  country. 

*  Captain  Giles  Hamlin  of  Middletown  (died  in  1689  ae.  67) 
was  a  prominent  figure  in  the  early  days  of  the  Colony;  he  was 
the  owner  of  a  silver  hat-band  which  he  bequeathed  to  his  daughter. 
The  portrait  of  Pocahontas  dated  1616  depicts  her  crowned  with 
a  mannish  headgear,  encircled  by  a  golden  hat-band. 

[7] 


Seventeenth  Century  Plate 


Caudle  Cup 


Early  Flagon 
[8] 


Seventeenth  Century  Plate 


Earliest  Shape  of  Chalice 


Later  Style  of  Chalice 


Early  Beaker 


Early  Tankard  with  Flat  Lid 


[9] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT    AND     ITS     MAKERS 

As  early  as  1715,  the  man  who  had 
amassed  a  fortune  could  purchase  coffee 
and  chocolate  pots,  braziers  (the  fore- 
runners of  the  modern  chafing-dish),  elab- 
orate urn-shaped  loving-cups,  porringers, — 
in  a  form  which  seems  to  have  been  peculiar 
to  this  country, — patch-boxes  and  snuff- 
boxes, toddy-strainers,  and  many  trinkets 
dear  to  the  feminine  heart. 

By  1736,  when  tea  had  so  far  dropped 
in  price  that  it  had  become  a  necessity, 
beautifully  chased  tea-pots  had  come  into 
vogue,  in  delicate  and  pure  designs,  in 
forms  now  known  as  bell  and  pear. 

The  silversmiths  were  also  making  grace- 
ful sauce  and  gravy  boats,  quaint  steeple- 
topped  pepper-casters,  beakers  with  single 
and  double  handles,  cans  with  double  scroll 
handles,  three-legged  cream-pitchers,  candle- 
sticks and  salvers  shaped  like  patens,  and 
in  other  forms. 

Later  in  the  century  beautiful  tea-sets 
and  punch-bowls  became  popular,  as  grace- 
ful in  shape  and  line  as  the  Heppelwhite, 
Adam,  and  Sheraton  furniture  of  that 
period.  One  of  the  most  frequent  of  mo- 
tives was  the  classical  urn,  which  became 

[10] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT    AND     ITS     MAKERS 

as  common  in  silver  as  in  architecture. 
Meantime  the  tankard  had  increased  in 
height,  the  flat  lid  had  been  replaced  by 
a  domed  cover  with  a  finial,  and  a  band 
had  been  moulded  around  the  middle  of 
the  body.  It  should  be  remembered  that 
no  tankard  was  made  with  a  spout.  It 
was  a  drinking-vessel  pure  and  simple. 
The  spout  now  so  frequently  found  on 
these  old  pieces  is  quite  a  modern  addition, 
— an  attempt  to  make  a  pitcher. 

Spoons  in  the  seventeenth  century  werev 
invariably  rat  -  tailed.  From  the  handle 
down  the  back  of  the  bowl  to  about  the 
middle  ran  a  ridge,  shaped  like  a  rat-tail. 
This  is  sometimes  thought  to  have  been 
an  attempt  to  strengthen  the  spoon,  but 
its  use  must  have  been  purely  ornamental, 
for  it  adds  little  strength  to  these  strongly 
made  spoons.  Sometimes  the  rat-tail  was 
shaped  like  a  long  "V,"  and  grooved,  while 
on  each  side  were  elaborate  scrolls.  The 
bowl  was  perfectly  oval  in  shape,  while 
the  end  of  the  handle  was  notched,  or  trifld. 

This  style  of  spoon  was  continued,  with 
modifications,  through  the  first  third  of  the 
eighteenth  century.    Then  the  bowl  became 
[ill 


Early  Eighteenth  Century  Plate 


Snuff  Box 


Porringer 


12 


Early  Eighteenth  Century  Plate 


Brazier  or  Chafing  Dish 


[13] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT     AND     ITS     MAKERS 

ovoid,  or  egg-shaped,  and  the  end  of  the 
handle  was  rounded,  without  the  notch. 

The  rat-tail  was  gradually  replaced  by 
what  is  known  as  the  drop,  or  double  drop, 
frequently  terminating  in  a  conventional- 
ized flower  or  shell,  or  anthemion,  while 
down  the  front  of  the  handle  ran  a  rib. 

Later  the  bowl  became  more  pointed, 
the  drop  was  replaced  by  a  tongue,  and  the 
handle  about  1760,  instead  of  slightly  curv- 
ing to  the  front  at  the  end,  reversed  the 
position.  A  little  later  the  handle  became 
pointed,  and  was  engraved  with  bright 
cut  ornaments  and  a  cartouche  at  the  end, 
in  which  were  engraved  the  initials  of  the 
owner. 

During  the  first  ten  years  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  a  popular  style  was  the 
so-called  coffin-shaped  handle,  succeeded 
probably  about  18 10  by  a  handle  with  a 
shoulder  just  above  the  junction  with  the 
bowl,  while  the  end  became  fiddle-shaped, 
or  of  a  style  now  known  as  tipped, — shapes 
produced  to  this  day. 

Up  to  about  1770  spoons  were  of  three 
sizes, — the  teaspoon,  as  small  as  an  after- 
dinner  coffee-spoon ;    the   porringer-spoon, 

[14] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT     AND     ITS     MAKERS 

a  little  smaller  than  our  present  dessert  size; 
and  the  tablespoon,  with  a  handle  some- 
what shorter  than  that  of  to-day/ 

So  few  forks  have  been  found  in  collec- 
tions of  old  silver  that  it  forces  the  belief 
that  they  were  generally  made  of  steel,  with 
bone  handles.  There  seems  no  reason  why, 
if  in  general  use,  silver  forks  should  not 
now  be  as  common  as  spoons. 

In  the  great  silver  exhibition  recently 
held  in  the  Museum  of  Fine  Arts,  Boston, 
of  more  than  one  thousand  pieces,  there 
were  only  two  forks  to  be  found,  and  they 
were  of  course  two-tined. 

In  the  manufacture  of  silverware,  as  in 
every  other  form  of  industry,  modern  meth- 
ods have  worked  a  revolution.  Now  pow- 
erful lathes  and  presses  accomplish  in  sec- 
onds the  work  of  days  under  old  conditions. 

Nevertheless,  we  can  produce  no  better 
silverware  than  could  the  old  craftsman 
working  with  his  primitive  tools.  The  sil- 
versmith of  Colonial  days  knew  thoroughly 
every  branch  of  his  trade.  He  was  de- 
signer, die-sinker,  forger,  solderer,  bur- 
nisher, chaser,  and  engraver.  He  was  a 
many-sided  man,  and  he  did  thorough  work. 

[15] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT    AND     ITS     MAKERS 

Let  no  one  fancy  him  as  other  than  a  man 
of  might,  for  muscle  and  sinew  were  as 
needful  in  fashioning  plate  as  in  the  trade 
of  blacksmithing. 

With  his  hammers,  anvils,  beak  irons, 
testers,  swages,  punches,  planishing  ham- 
mers, and  stakes  and  drawing  benches,  he 
skilfully  shaped  the  beautiful  white  metal, 
putting  a  feeling  into  his  work  that  is  gen- 
erally missing  in  modern  silver. 

He  used  a  lathe,  probably  worked  by 
foot-power,  not  for  spinning,  but  for  sha- 
ping and  truing  a  porringer,  a  beaker,  or  a 
bowl  after  the  hammers  and  anvils  had 
done  their  work.  This  is  plainly  shown  by 
the  mark  left  by  the  lathe  in  the  centre  of 
these  vessels. 

The  metal  was  hammered  while  cold,  and 
many  times  during  the  operation  was 
annealed;  that  is,  heated  in  a  charcoal 
fire,  to  prevent  brittleness  and  to  make  it 
tough. 

With  the  planishing  hammers  and  anvils, 
rotten  stone  and  burnishers,  a  uniform  and 
beautiful  surface  was  produced  that  can 
never  be  attained  by  a  modern  workman 
using  a  buffing  wheel. 

[16] 


4 


H 


Plate 


Plate  ii. 


Plate 


Plate  iv 


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C 


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-     rt 

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o     O 


— 

u 

= 

u 


S*J5 


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Oh 


Plate  v. 


lustrations  showing  transition  in  the  bend  of  Spoon  Handles 
in  the  third  quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century 


Showing  bend  of  handle  previous  to  decade 

1760-70 


Showing  bend  of  handle  after  decade 
1760-70 


Plate  vi. 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT    AND     ITS     MAKERS 

Ornaments  on  the  back  of  spoon  bowls 
and  handles  were  impressed  by  dies  forced 
together  by  drop  presses  or  under  screw 
pressure.  This  is  absolutely  proven  by  the 
exact  duplication  of  the  pattern  on  sets  of 
spoons.  Accurate  measurements  show  that 
these  ornaments  were  not  hand-work,  for 
there  is  not  the  slightest  deviation  in 
dimensions. 

The  silversmith  carried  little  manufac- 
tured stock.  It  was  the  general  practice 
to  take  to  the  smith  the  coin  which  it  was 
desired  to  have  fashioned  into  plate.  These 
coins  were  melted  in  a  crucible  and  poured 
into  a  skillet  to  form  an  ingot,  which  was 
then  hammered  into  sheets  of  the  correct 
gauge. 

This  explains  the  usual  practice  at  that 
time  of  valuing  a  porringer  or  a  tankard, 
or  other  plate,  by  saying  that  it  contained 
so  many  Spanish  dollars  or  English  coins. 

Probably  most  of  the  early  plate  was 
fashioned  from  Spanish  dollars,  once  so 
generally  in  circulation  in  this  country. 
They  were  not  up  to  sterling  standard, 
being  only  .900  parts  fine,  while  sterling  is 
.925  fine.     Nevertheless,  early  plate  seems 

[17] 


Mid-Eighteenth  Century  Plate 


Bell  Shaped  Tea  Pot 


Pear  Shaped  Tea  Pot 
[18] 


Mid-Eighteenth  Century  Plate 


Sauce  Boat 


Candlestick  Tankard  with  Domed  Top 


[19] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT    AND     ITS     MAKERS 

to  be  whiter  in  color  than  that  manufac- 
tured to-day. 

Perhaps  this  is  the  explanation:  hand- 
hammered  or  forged  silver  must  be  annealed 
very  frequently,  and  in  the  old  days  this 
was  done  with  the  aid  of  a  bellows  in  the 
open  air,  instead  of  in  a  furnace,  as  is  done 
to-day.  As  a  result,  a  film  of  oxide  of 
copper  was  formed,  which  was  removed  by 
plunging  the  article  into  what  is  called  the 
pickling  bath, — a  hot  diluted  solution  of 
sulphuric  acid.  This  operation  continued 
often  enough  would  tend  to  make  the  sur- 
face almost  fine  silver;  hence  the  white  color. 

Most  smiths  impressed  the  plate  they 
fashioned  with  their  trade-mark.  The  ear- 
liest marks  were  initials  in  a  shaped  shield 
or  in  a  heart,  with  some  emblem  above 
or  below.  Later  marks  were  initials  or 
the  name  in  a  plain  or  shaped  or  engrailed 
rectangle  or  oval.  In  the  early  part  of  the 
last  century  the  word  "Coin"  *  was  added, 
and  about  1865  the  word  "Sterling"  was 
employed  to  denote  the  correct  standard. 

*When  the  United  States  Mint  was  established  in  1792,  the 
standard  of  silver  coinage  was  fixed  at  .892T%  fine.  In  1837  the 
standard  was  raised  to  .900  fine.  Therefore,  "Coin"  stamped  on 
plate  does  not  indicate  .925,  or  "Sterling"  fine. 

[20] 


Silversmith  Shop  of  Lewis  Curtis,  Farmington.     Formerly  stood  at 

the  head  of  the  main  street,  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  west  of  Elm 

Tree  Inn.     Now  located  in  the  meadow  two  or  three  hundred  feet 

north  of  the  Country  Club 


Silversmith  Shop  of  Joseph  Carpenter,  Norwich 


Plate  vii. 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT    AND     ITS     MAKERS 

Undoubtedly,  the  shops  of  the  gold  and 
silversmiths  were  small  affairs,  with  no 
cellars  or  substantial  foundations,  being 
similar  in  that  respect  to  those  of  black- 
smiths. They  were  frequently  built  on 
leased  or  rented  land,  and  could  with  little 
difficulty  be  moved  to  other  sites. 

When  Captain  Robert  Fairchild,  of  Strat- 
ford, sold  his  homestead  in  1768,  he  re- 
served the  right  to  remove  from  the  prem- 
ises a  goldsmith  shop.  Such  reservations 
were  not  unusual. 

They  were  easily  broken  into  by  bur- 
glars, and  "stop  thief"  advertisements  in 
the  local  press  were  quite  common.  The 
shops  of  Joseph  and  Stephen  Hopkins,  of 
Waterbury,  were  entered  in  this  way  some 
eight  or  ten  times  in  the  decade  from  1765 
to  1775. 

The  writer  well  remembers  a  visit  in 
1875  to  the  smithy  of  one  of  these  artisans 
in  East  Hartford.  There,  busily  engaged, 
was  an  old  man  forging  spoons  for  a  Hart- 
ford jeweler.  The  building  could  not  have 
been  more  than  fifteen  by  thirty  feet,  and 
yet  there  was  ample  room  for  every  emer- 
gency.    The  smith  had  learned  the  trade, 

[211 


Mid-Eighteenth  Century  Plate 


Three  types  of  Pepper  Caster 


Examples  of  Cream  Jugs 


^F      ^eyr^i 


Beaker 


Mid-Eighteenth  Century  Plate 


Pepper  Box 


Two  Handled  Cup 


Early  18th  Century 


Early  18th  Century 


Later  and  usual  type 
of  18th  Century 


[23] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT    AND     ITS     MAKERS 

just  as  his  predecessors  of  earlier  days  had 
done,  and  perhaps  was  the  last  of  the 
fraternity. 

The  knowledge  that  America  had  silver- 
smiths during  the  Colonial  period  came  as 
a  complete  surprise  and  revelation  to  most 
of  those  who  were  so  fortunate  as  to  see 
the  splendid  examples  of  their  work  exhib- 
ited at  the  Museum  of  Fine  Arts  in  Boston 
in  1906. 

That  these  craftsmen  were  equal  in  skill 
to  their  English  rivals  cannot  perhaps  be 
claimed  in  every  respect  on  account  of  the 
lack  of  demand  for  highly  florid  ornamen- 
tation, but  it  may  be  safely  stated  that 
American  silversmiths  produced  wares  that 
for  beauty  of  shape,  sense  of  proportion, 
and  purity  of  line  were  not  surpassed  in 
England;  and,  if  occasion  demanded,  elab- 
orate ornamentation  in  most  decorative 
designs  was  fully  within  the  grasp  of  Ameri- 
can workmen. 

Working  in  silver  was  a  most  respectable 
craft,  and  many  of  the  men  who  followed 
the  trade  were  of  excellent  social  standing, 
particularly  in  Boston.  One  can  say  with- 
out fear  of  contradiction  that  the  best  silver- 

[24] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT    AND     ITS     MAKERS 

work  in  this  country  was  done  in  that 
town. 

The  earliest  American  silversmiths  of 
whom  record  has  been  found  were  Captain 
John  Hull,  coiner  of  the  Pine  Tree  Shilling, 
mint-master  of  Massachusetts,  and  mer- 
chant prince,  and  his  partner,  Robert  San- 
derson, both  of  Boston,  and  working  in  the 
middle  of  the  seventeenth  century. 

They  were  succeeded  by  men  who  were 
also  past  masters  of  the  craft,  such  as  David 
Jesse,  who  is  thought  to  have  been  born  in 
Hartford;  Jeremiah  Dummer;  John  Coney; 
John  Dixwell,  son  of  the  regicide  of  that 
name  who  resided  in  New  Haven  for  so 
many  years;  the  Edwardses;  Edward  Wins- 
low;  William  Co  well;  the  three  Burts;  the 
Hurds;  and  last,  but  not  least  of  this  very 
incomplete  list,  Paul  Revere,  father  and 
son,  the  last  the  hero  of  Longfellow's  famous 
poem. 

These  men  were  craftsmen  of  the  great- 
est skill,  and  the  many  examples  of  their 
work  still  extant  show  that  they  upheld  the 
standards  and  traditions  of  their  trade  in 
a  manner  worthy  of  the  highest  praise. 

The  work  of  a  number  is  to  be  found  in 

[25] 


Later  Eighteenth  Century  Type 


This  and  the  following  page  illustrate  a  tea  service 
of  the  urn  type,  popular  at  the  end  of  the  18th  century 


Later  Eighteenth  Century  Type 


[«7] 


Later  Eighteenth  Century  Types 


Punch  Bowl  by  Paul  Revere 


Tea  Pot  made  about  1795 


[28] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT    AND     ITS     MAKERS 

Connecticut  to-day,  particularly  in  the 
churches.  In  fact,  a  considerable  part  of  the 
early  communion  silver  in  this  State  was 
made  by  Boston  silversmiths. 

Jeremiah  Dummer  (1645-1718)  is  rep- 
resented by  thirteen  silver  vessels  in  our 
churches,  one  more  than  John  Dixwell  has 
to  his  credit,  although  the  latter  was  born 
in  New  Haven,  and  must  have  known  many 
men  in  the  Colony. 

But  Dummer  is  of  interest  to  us  in  another 
way.  When  the  government  of  Connecti- 
cut decided  in  1709  to  issue  paper  cur- 
rency, or  Bills  of  Exchange,  the  agents  of 
the  Colony  apparently  selected  him  to  do 
the  mechanical  part  of  the  work;  that  is, 
the  engraving  of  the  plates  and  the  printing 
of  the  bills. 

Journals  of  the  Council  for  1710  show 
transactions  with  Dummer  relating  to  this 
currency,  and  in  171 2  Governor  Saltonstall 
laid  before  the  Council  Board  the  bill  of 
Jeremiah  Dummer  for  printing  6,550  sheets 
of  this  paper  currency. 

The  inference  seems  clear  that  Dummer 
not  only  printed,  but  engraved,  the  first 
paper  currency  of   Connecticut.     His  one- 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT    AND     ITS     MAKERS 

time  apprentice,  John  Coney,  had  the  dis- 
tinction of  engraving  the  plates  for  the  first 
paper  money  issued  by  Massachusetts  some 
years  previously,  the  first  issued  on  this 
continent. 

Part  of  the  trade  of  a  silversmith  was  to 
engrave  on  the  metal  coats-of-arms,  orna- 
mentations, or  the  initials  of  the  owners,  and, 
of  course,  the  transition  to  engraving  on 
copper  was  easy  and  natural.  Several  of 
the  early  engravers  did  their  first  work  on 
silver,  Paul  Revere  and  our  own  Amos 
Doolittle  among  the  number. 

The  early  church  silver  is  of  very  great 
interest  not  only  on  account  of  its  beauty 
and  quaintness,  but  also  because  of  its  as- 
sociation and  history.  Nothing  else  brings 
us  into  such  intimate  touch  with  the  life 
of  our  forefathers.  Generation  after  gen- 
eration of  the  sturdy  Connecticut  stock 
have  hallowed  it  by  the  most  religious  act 
of  their  lives. 

The  beakers,  caudle-cups,  and  tankards 
were  frequently  in  domestic  use  before  they 
were  presented  to  the  churches,  the  offering 
of  devout  Christian  men  and  women.  This 
plate  is  nearly  all  in  precisely  the  same  con- 

[301 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT     AND     ITS     MAKERS 

dition  as  when  first  dedicated  to  God's 
service. 

Too  many  of  our  churches  have  banished 
these  sacred  memorials  to  safety  deposit 
vaults  in  our  cities  and  to  boxes  and  baskets 
stored  in  attics  in  our  country  districts. 
The  substitution  of  the  individual  cups  is, 
of  course,  the  cause  of  this  change. 

Would  it  not  be  most  fitting  if  these  dis- 
carded memorials  were  deposited  in  some 
central  place  where  the  protection  would 
be  ample,  and  yet  where  their  historical 
and  religious  significance  would  not  be 
hidden  and  their  beauty  and  workmanship 
could  be  studied  and  admired? 

While  not  so  likely,  when  silver  is  stored 
in  a  safety  deposit  vault  in  the  name  of  a 
church,  there  is  always,  when  placed  in 
the  custody  of  an  individual,  the  danger 
not  only  of  fire  and  burglary,  but  that  it 
may  be  utterly  forgotten,  and  thus,  through 
carelessness  or  dishonesty,  finally  drift  into 
alien  hands  and  be  lost  to  the  church  for- 
ever. The  silver  of  more  than  one  Con- 
necticut church  has  been  destroyed  by  fire, 
and  in  one  case  the  writer's  visit  resulted 
in  the  locating  of  church  silver  that  had 

[311 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT    AND     ITS     MAKERS 

been  completely  forgotten.  Fifty-seven 
Connecticut  churches  still  preserve  their 
ancient  silver.  Much  of  it  is  of  great  his- 
torical interest,  and  some  of  it  of  very  great 
beauty. 

The  oldest  piece  of  communion  plate  in 
this  State  belongs  to  the  Congregational 
Church  in  Guilford.  It  is  a  quaint  old 
beaker  with  flaring  lip,  and  is  marked  in 
pounced  engraving  "H.  K."  on  the  side. 
It  was  the  gift  of  Henry  Kingsnorth,  one 
of  the  first  settlers  of  that  town  and  a  man 
of  substance  and  worth.  He  died  at  the 
age  of  fifty  in  1668  during  the  great  sick- 
ness, as  it  was  called,  and  his  will  reads: 

"I  give  and  bequeath  unto  ye  church 
here  fifteen  pounds  to  buy  any  such  uten- 
sills  for  the  sacrament  withall  as  they  shall 
see  cause."  The  beaker  was  made  by 
William  Rouse,  of  Boston,  a  contemporary 
of  Captain  John  Hull,  the  mint-master. 

One  of  the  beakers  belonging  to  the  Con- 
gregational Church  in  Groton  bears  the 
engraved  inscription,  "The  Gift  of  Sr  John 
Davie  to  the  Chh.  of  Christ  at  Groton." 
It  was  made  by  Samuel  Vernon,  a  silver- 
smith of  Newport,  R.  I.     The  story  of  the 

[32] 


Earliest  Piece  of  Church   Plate  in 
Connecticut 


Beaker  belonging  to   Congregational    Church,   Guilford.     Pre- 
sented by  Henry  Kingsnorth,  1668.     Made  by  William  Rouse 
of  Boston.      Height  4Vi  inches 


Plate 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT    AND     ITS     MAKERS 

beaker  is  this:  John,  who  was  a  son  of 
Humphrey  Davie,  of  Hartford,  and  cousin 
of  Sir  William  Davie,  of  Creedy  in  Devon, 
England,  graduated  at  Harvard  in  1681, 
and  became  one  of  the  first  settlers  of 
Groton  and  its  first  town  clerk.  In  1707 
his  cousin,  Sir  William,  died  without  male 
issue,  and  John  of  Groton  succeeded  to  the 
baronetcy.  Barefooted  and  in  his  shirt- 
sleeves, he  was  hoeing  corn  on  his  farm 
when  the  messenger  arrived  to  tell  him  of 
his  good  fortune  and  to  salute  him  as  Sir 
John  Davie.  He  soon  left  for  England,  and 
the  beaker  was  his  parting  gift. 

Belonging  to  the  ancient  Congregational 
Society  of  Norwichtown  is  a  two-handled 
cup  made  by  John  Dixwell,  and  bearing  the 
inscription  in  quaintly  engraved  letters, 
"The  Gift  of  Sarah  Knight  to  the  Chh.  of 
Christ  in  Norwich,  April  20,  1722."  She 
was  Madam  Knight,  who  wrote  a  diary  of 
her  trip  from  Boston  to  New  York  in  1704. 
For  a  number  of  years  she  was  a  resident 
of  Norwich,  and  lies  buried  in  the  old  grave- 
yard in  New  London. 

There  are  sixteen  silver  beakers  owned  by 
the    First    Congregational    Church,    New 

[33] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT    AND     ITS     MAKERS 

London,  and  two  of  them  bear  the  inscrip- 
tion, "The  Gift  of  the  Owners  of  the  Ship 
Adventure  of  London,  1699."  They  were 
made  by  two  Boston  silversmiths  working  in 
partnership,  John  Edwards  and  John  Allen. 
A  ship  named  "Adventure"  and  built 
in  London  was  owned  at  that  time  by 
Adam  Pickett  and  Christopher  Christo- 
phers, of  New  London.  It  does  not  seem 
a  wild  flight  of  the  imagination  to  conjecture 
that  these  beakers  were  presented  to  the 
church  as  a  thank-offering  either  for  a 
profitable  mercantile  venture  or  for  a  for- 
tunate escape  from  some  harrowing  expe- 
rience at  sea. 

In  1725  Governor  Gurdon  Saltonstall 
gave  by  will  a  silver  tankard  to  this  church, 
and  in  1726  his  widow  made  a  like  gift. 
In  1793  the  church  by  vote  had  these  two 
vessels  made  into  three  beakers  by  J.  P. 
Trott,  a  New  London  silversmith,  but  care 
was  used  to  preserve  the  old  inscriptions. 

The  Congregational  Church  at  North 
Haven  owns  a  large  baptismal  basin  on 
which  is  inscribed,  "The  Gift  of  the  Rev. 
Ezra  Stiles,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  President  Yale 
College,  to  the  Congregational  Church  in 

[34] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT    AND     ITS     MAKERS 

North  Haven,  1794."  He  was  one  of  the 
most  distinguished  men  of  his  time,  and 
a  native  of  North  Haven. 

There  was  a  time  when  the  First  Con- 
gregational Church,  Hartford,  could  boast 
of  an  array  of  plate  made  by  these  early 
silversmiths.  This  fact  is  revealed  by  the 
ancient  Court  of  Probate  records.  In  the 
early  part  of  the  last  century  a  pinch  of 
poverty  was  felt,  or  else  it  was  thought 
that  the  style  of  these  vessels  was  too  old- 
fashioned.  Whatever  the  cause,  the  plate 
was  sold. 

In  the  collection  was  a  fine  old  mug 
made  by  William  Cowell,  of  Boston,  and 
presented  by  Mrs.  Abigail,  the  wife  of  Rev. 
Timothy  Woodbridge,  pastor  of  the  church 
from  1683  to  1732.  On  the  mug  is  the  in- 
scription, "Ex  dono  A.  W.  to  the  First 
Church  of  Christ  in  Hartford,  1727." 

In  1883  William  R.  Cone,  of  Hartford, 
found  the  mug  in  the  possession  of  J.  K. 
Bradford,  of  Peru,  111.,  whose  grand- 
father, Dr.  Jeremiah  Bradford,  had  bought 
it  of  the  church  in  1803  for  £15.  Mr.  Cone 
was  able  to  buy  it  for  #75,  and  re-presented 
it  to  the  church. 

[35] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT     AND     ITS     MAKERS 

In  1840  the  Second  Congregational 
Church,  Hartford,  procured  a  new  commun- 
ion service,  made  from  its  ancient  silver, 
melted  down.  The  old  inscriptions  were 
faithfully  copied,  and  tell  of  the  following 
gifts:  a  tankard,  given  by  John  Ellery  in 
1746;  two  cups,  engraved  "The  Dying 
Gift  of  Mr.  Richard  Lord  to  the  Second 
Church  of  Christ  in  Hartford";  two  cups, 
engraved  "The  Gift  of  J.  R.  to  the  South 
Church  in  Hartford";  and  two  cups,  en- 
graved "S.  C."  The  church  now  owns 
only  one  piece  of  ancient  silver,  a  beautiful 
tankard  given  by  William  Stanley  in  1787. 

Hartford  is  not  the  only  town  which  has 
lost  its  ancient  church  silver.  The  Congre- 
gational Church  in  Saybrook  sold  its  plate 
in  18 1 5  (but  fortunately  it  is  still  in  exist- 
ence), and  the  Congregational  Church  in 
Wallingford  remodeled  its  ancient  plate  in 
1849,  in  a  style  popular  at  that  period,  while 
the  Congregational  Churches  in  Wethers- 
field  and  Cheshire  lost  their  communion 
silver  by  fire  a  number  of  years  ago.  The 
East  Hartford  Church  plate  nearly  met  a 
like  fate  only  a  few  months  ago. 

The   Congregational    Church    in    South 

[361 


Plate  ix. 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT    AND     ITS     MAKERS 

Windsor  owns  two  beautiful  beakers  made 
by  John  Potwine,  a  silversmith  of  that 
vicinity,  and  presented  by  Governor  Roger 
Wolcott  in  1756. 

The  Congregational  Church  in  Fairfield 
has  a  beautiful  collection  of  plate:  two 
handsome  tankards,  dated  1753  and 
1757;  two  fine  chalices  presented  by 
Captain  John  Silliman  in  1752;  three 
beakers  and  a  cup  with  a  handle.  On 
Saturday  evening,  May  1,  1779,  this  silver 
was  in  the  home  of  a  deacon,  General 
Silliman,  and  for  convenience  it  had  been 
placed  in  a  corner  of  his  bedroom.  That 
night  a  company  of  British  soldiers  landed 
on  the  shore  of  Fairfield,  and  stealthily 
made  their  way  to  the  good  deacon's  home, 
and  made  him  a  prisoner.  The  noise  of 
the  entering  soldiers  awakened  Mrs.  Silli- 
man, who  hastily  threw  some  bed-clothes 
over  the  silver  and,  although  the  house  was 
ransacked,  the  communion  plate  was  not 
discovered. 

The  First  Congregational  Church,  Bridge- 
port, has  a  large  collection  of  ancient  silver; 
but  its  most  noteworthy  piece  is  a  tankard 
made  about  1738    by  Peter  Van  Dyke,  of 

[37] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT     AND     ITS     MAKERS 

New  York.  It  is  a  small  one,  only  six 
inches  high,  and  has  been  disfigured  by  the 
addition  of  a  spout  in  modern  times;  but 
the  ornamentation  on  the  handle  in  most 
elaborate  arabesque  scrolls  and  masks,  and 
around  the  base  in  acanthus  foliage,  is  the 
most  beautiful  ornamentation  that  has  been 
found  on  any  ancient  silver  in  America. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  collections  of 
communion  silver  in  the  State  belongs  to 
the  Centre  Congregational  Church,  New 
Haven.  It  consists  of  thirteen  beautiful 
caudle-cups  and  a  large  baptismal  basin. 

The  latter  was  made  by  Kneeland,  of 
Boston,  and  was  presented  to  the  church 
by  the  will  of  Jeremiah  Atwater  in  1735. 
Its  history  is  quite  interesting. 

Early  in  the  eighteenth  century  Mr. 
Atwater,  a  wealthy  merchant,  made  a  pur- 
chase in  Boston  of  a  cargo  of  nails.  In 
one  of  the  kegs,  beneath  a  layer  of  nails, 
he  found  a  quantity  of  silver  money.  He 
wrote  to  the  Boston  merchant,  and  told 
him  of  the  money  found  in  the  keg,  and 
asked  how  it  could  be  returned  to  its  right- 
ful owner.  The  reply  stated  that  the  keg 
was  bought  for  nails  and  sold  for  nails,  and 

[38] 


Plate  x. 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT    AND     ITS     MAKERS 

had  passed  through  many  hands,  and  it 
would  be  impossible  to  trace  the  original 
owner,  and  that  Mr.  Atwater  must  dispose 
of  the  money  as  he  saw  fit.  He  finally 
concluded  that  he  would  give  the  money 
to  the  church,  and  had  it  wrought  into  a 
baptismal  basin.  This  was  the  traditional 
story  as  told  to  Dr.  Leonard  Bacon  by  the 
two  eldest  children  of  a  Jeremiah  Atwater, 
who  was  a  nephew  of  the  original  Jeremiah. 
On  the  following  facts  we  can  absolutely 
rely.  Mr.  Atwater  made  his  will  in  1732, 
and  died  the  same  year.  The  will  says, 
"I  give  and  bequeath  unto  the  First  Church 
of  Christ  in  New  Haven  the  sum  of  fifty 
pounds  to  be  improved  for  plate  or  other- 
wise, as  the  pastor  and  deacons  shall  di- 
rect." This  story  in  full  was  told  by  Dr. 
Bacon  in  the  Journal  and  Courier,  July  15, 

1853. 

During  the  British  invasion  of  New 
Haven  in  1779,  all  the  communion  silver 
was  hidden  in  a  chimney  in  the  house  of 
Deacon  Stephen  Ball  at  the  corner  of 
Chapel  and  High  Streets,  .where  Yale  Art 
School  now  stands. 

In  the  Congregational  Church,  Columbia, 

[39] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT    AND     ITS     MAKERS 

is  a  beaker  presented  by  Captain  Samuel 
Buckingham  in  1756.  When  the  centenary 
of  the  founding  of  Dartmouth  College  was 
observed  a  few  years  ago,  this  beaker  was 
taken  to  Hanover  for  the  occasion  because 
of  its  intimate  association  with  Dr.  Eleazer 
Wheelock. 

When  Canterbury  was  settled  about 
1690,  a  number  of  the  pioneers  were  from 
Barnstable.  The  interest  of  the  older  town 
apparently  did  not  wane,  for  by  the  church 
records  we  find  that  in  17 16  the  church  in 
Barnstable  presented  to  its  daughter  more 
than  two  pounds  sterling,  which  was  in- 
vested in  a  silver  beaker  still  in  use  in  the 
Canterbury  Church,  and  inscribed,  "The 
Gift  of  Barnstable  Church,  1716." 

Belonging  to  the  Congregational  Church, 
Windham,  are  three  ancient  silver  beakers, 
inscribed,  "John  Cates  legacy  to  the  Church 
in  Windham." 

Cates  was  a  mysterious  individual,  and 
probably  the  earliest  settler  in  Windham. 
Barber,  in  his  Historical  Collections,  says 
he  served  in  the  wars  in  England,  holding 
a  commission  under  Cromwell.  On  the 
restoration  of   Charles   II.   to    the  throne, 

[40] 


Plate    belonging    to    Berkeley    Divinity    School,    Middletown. 

Cup    made    by   John    Gardiner.        Height   5]s    inches.      Paten 

made  by  an  unknown  maker.      Mark:  J.  Gardner  in  rectangle 


Beakers  made  by  John  Potvvine  and  presented  to  East  Windsor 

Church  by  Gov.  Roger  Wolcott  in  1756.      Height  4%  inches 

Mark  :  I.  Potwine  (script)  in  cartouche 


Plate  xi 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT    AND     ITS     MAKERS 

Cates  fled  to  this  country  for  safety,  and, 
in  order  to  avoid  his  pursuers,  finally  settled 
in  the  wilderness  of  what  is  now  Windham. 
He  died  there  in  1697. 

Berkeley  Divinity  School,  Middletown, 
possesses  two  ancient  and  interesting  pieces 
of  communion  silver:  a  beautiful  cup  or 
chalice,  made  by  John  Gardiner,  a  silver- 
smith of  New  London,  and  a  paten. 

The  tradition  is  that  they  were  originally 
owned  by  Rt.  Rev.  Samuel  Seabury,  first 
bishop  of  Connecticut,  and  presented  by 
him  respectively  to  St.  James  Church,  New 
London,  and  Calvary  Church,  Stonington. 
Around  the  chalice  runs  the  inscription, 
"Given  by  Dr.  Yeldall  towards  making 
this  chalice  4  oz.  7  dwts.  1773."  Who  Dr. 
Yeldall  was,  is  not  known,  but  in  an  adver- 
tisement in  a  New  London  newspaper  in 
1775  it  is  stated,  "Dr.  YeldalPs  medicines 
may  be  had  of  Joseph  Knight,  Post  Rider." 
Presumably,  therefore,  he  was  well  known 
in  that  vicinity. 

Some  fifty  years  ago,  at  Bishop  Williams's 
request,  these  memorials  of  .Bishop  Seabury 
were  presented  to  the  Divinity  School. 

This  brief  account  of  the  ancient  silver 

[41] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT     AND     ITS     MAKERS 

belonging  to  the  churches  of  Connecticut 
by  no  means  exhausts  the  subject,  either 
historically  or  from  other  points  of  view. 

One  might  continue  describing  in  detail 
the  display  of  ten  beakers  and  massive 
baptismal  basin  belonging  to  the  First 
Church  in  Middletown,  the  fine  array  be- 
longing to  the  Congregational  Church  in 
Stratford,  and  the  seven  very  ancient  and 
beautiful  caudle-cups  owned  by  the  old 
church  in  Farmington.  Not  less  worthy  of 
mention  is  the  silver  of  the  First  Church 
in  Milford  (two  of  the  pieces  having  been 
made  by  a  Connecticut  silversmith),  and 
the  fine  silver  of  quaint  design  belonging  to 
the  Congregational  Church  in  Guilford. 

The  United  Church  and  Trinity  Church, 
New  Haven;  St.  John's  Church,  Stamford; 
The  Congregational  Church,  Durham;  Cen- 
ter Church,  Meriden;  First  Congregational 
Church,  Derby;  Congregational  Church, 
North  Haven;  and  many  others, — have 
beautiful  collections  of  silver  of  great  in- 
terest, most  of  it  made  by  the  silversmiths 
of  Connecticut. 

In  private  hands,  among  the  old  families 
of  the  State,  a  considerable  quantity  of  old 

[42] 


u 


Plate  xii. 


Plate  xiii. 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT    AND     ITS     MAKERS 

plate  remains,  but  the  great  bulk  of  it  has 
disappeared  forever, — most  of  it  consigned 
to  the  melting-pot,  to  issue  thence  in  mod- 
ern forms  of  nondescript  styles  or  no  style 
at  all.  The  temperance  movement  in  the 
early  part  of  the  last  century  is  responsible 
for  the  disappearance  of  quantities  of  old 
plate.  Many  of  the  old  porringers,  tank- 
ards, beakers,  mugs,  and  cans  were  trans- 
formed into  spoons  and  forks  by  our  local 
craftsmen,  of  whom  Hartford  and  New 
Haven  had  so  many. 

What  stories  of  this  iconoclasm  could 
have  been  told  by  Beach,  Ward,  Sargeant, 
Pitkin,  and  Rogers,  of  Hartford,  and  Merri- 
man,  Chittenden,  and  Bradley,  of  New 
Haven ! 

Indeed,  one  begins  to  believe  that  every 
town  of  any  importance  in  this  State  had 
its  local  spoon -maker,  whose  trade  was 
nearly  as  familiar  to  the  inhabitants  as  that 
of  the  village  blacksmith. 

But,  of  all  causes  for  the  disappearance 
of  old  plate,  none  was  equal  to  the  feeling 
that  the  good  old  silver,  utensils  of  the 
forefathers  were  old-fashioned.  It  is  the 
same   subtle   influence   which   banished   to 

[43] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT     AND     ITS     MAKERS 

garrets  and  outhouses  the  beautiful  fur- 
niture of  the  same  period,  and  gave  us  in 
exchange  the  Empire  styles  and  the  mid- 
century  products  of  the  so-called  furniture 
butchers. 

It  is  surprising  to  find  what  quantities  of 
plate  were  owned  by  some  of  the  rich  men 
of  the  Colony.  To  give  a  few  illustrations : 
Rev.  Samuel  Whittlesey,  of  Wallingford, 
who  died  in  1752,  had  silver  to  the  amount 
of  108  ounces,  consisting  of  tankards,  por- 
ringers, beakers,  salt-cellars,  spoons,  etc. 

Captain  Joseph  Trowbridge,  of  New 
Haven,  who  died  in  1765,  owned  234  ounces 
of  plate. 

In  March,  1774,  the  home  of  Hon.  Thad- 
deus  Burr,  of  Fairfield,  was  entered  by 
burglars,  and  plate  was  taken  which  must 
have  amounted  to  several  hundred  ounces. 
In  a  list  published  in  a  newspaper  at  the 
time  are  such  articles  as  chafing-dishes,  tea- 
pots, porringers,  tankards,  silver- hiked 
sword,  beakers,  cans,  sugar-dish,  and  spoons 
ad  libitum. 

Governor  Theophilus  Eaton,  who  died  in 
1657,  left  plate  valued  at  107  pounds 
sterling. 

[44] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT     AND     ITS     MAKERS 

The  greater  part  of  the  early  domestic 
silver  found  in  Connecticut  was  made  by 
the  silversmiths  of  Boston,  New  York,  and 
Newport.  This  was  but  natural,  for  Con- 
necticut had  no  large  commercial  ports 
where  merchants  grew  rich  through  for- 
eign trade  and  accumulated  wealth  in  suf- 
ficient quantities  to  invest  very  large  sums 
in  the  productions  of  the  silversmith's  art. 

In  one  respect  the  conditions  in  Con- 
necticut one  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago 
were  much  like  those  of  to-day.  If  a  man 
of  wealth  desired  to  purchase  an  article  of 
exceptional  quality  and  worth,  he  was  quite 
likely  to  patronize  the  merchants  and  crafts- 
men of  those  far-away  cities,  Boston  and 
New  York,  where  styles  were  sure  to  be  of 
the  latest  fashion  and  workmanship  of 
unusual  merit,  while  a  man  of  slender  re- 
sources naturally  depended  on  near-by 
shopkeepers  and  artisans. 

However,  Connecticut  had  many  silver- 
smiths, and  a  number  of  them  did  most 
creditable  work  when  their  services  were 
demanded,  although,  owing  to  the  influ- 
ence just  stated,  their  products  seem  to  have 
been  distributed  almost  wholly  in  their  own 

f45l 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT    AND     ITS     MAKERS 

localities, — one    might    indeed    say    among 
their  fellow-townsmen. 

One  never  finds  in  Hartford  the  work 
of  a  New  Haven  smith,  or  in  New  Haven 
the  product  of  a  man  who  was  working  in 
New  London,  except  when  recent  migra- 
tion has  carried  the  ware  from  home. 

As  a  result,  these  silversmiths,  in  order 
to  eke  out  a  living  in  communities  that  were 
not  lavish  in  accumulating  their  work,  were 
obliged  to  turn  their  attention  to  various 
other  trades.  Some  were  clock  and  cabi- 
net makers;  others  were  blacksmiths  and 
innkeepers;  and  others,  to  use  a  homely 
phrase,  were  jacks-of-all-trades. 

Many  of  them  advertised  extensively  in 
the  weekly  press,  and  these  appeals  for 
custom  vividly  illuminate  the  social  and 
domestic  demands  and  requirements  of  their 
patrons,  and  present  striking  pictures  of  the 
times. 

The  earliest  silversmith  of  Connecticut 
of  whom  record  has  been  found  was  Job 
Prince,  of  Milford.  Very  little  relating  to 
him  has  been  discovered.  Apparently,  he 
was  born  in  Hull,  Mass.,  in  1680.  He 
died  evidently  in    1703,  for  the  inventory 

[46] 


Work  of  Cornelius  Kierstead 


Baptismal  Basin  and   two-handled    Beaker  belonging  to   First 

Congregational  Church,  Milford.    Made  by  Cornelius  Kierstead. 

Diameter    of   basin    10    inches.     Height   of   beaker   5%    inches 

Mark:  C.  K.  in  rectangle 


Plate 


Cup  made  by  Ren£  Grignon.      Height  2%e  inches. 

Owned  by  Mrs.  Carl  J.  Viets,  New  London.     Mark 

R.     G.     crowned,      stag     passant     below,     in      a 

shaped  shield 


Plate  xv. 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT    AND     ITS     MAKERS 

of  his  estate  is  on  file  in  the  Probate  Court, 
New  Haven,  dated  January  24,  1703-04. 
It  includes  a  set  of  silversmith's  tools,  a  pair 
of  small  bellows,  a  pair  of  silver  buckles, 
tobacco-box,  tankard,  porringer,  and  six 
spoons.  The  Princes  were  evidently  a  sea- 
faring family,  and  even  Job  owned  a  Gun- 
ter's  scale  and  a  book  on  practical  navigation. 

The  next  silversmith  in  Connecticut  was 
Rene  Grignon,  a  Huguenot,  who  had  lived  in 
various  parts  of  New  England  and  finally 
settled  in  Norwich  about  1708,  for  in  that 
year  he  presented  a  bell  to  the  First  Church 
there.  He  attained  considerable  impor- 
tance during  his  brief  residence,  and,  judg- 
ing by  the  two  pieces  of  silver  still  extant, 
which  it  is  safe  to  ascribe  to  him,  was  an  ex- 
pert craftsman.  He  stamped  his  work  with 
the  letters  "R.  G.,"  crowned,  a  stag  (?) 
passant  below,  in  a  shaped  shield. 

He  died  in  1715?  and  his  inventory  con- 
tained the  usual  stock  in  trade  of  a  gold  and 
silver  smith.  His  tools  he  left  to  his  ap- 
prentice, Daniel  Deshon,  who  was  after- 
wards a  silversmith  in  New  London  and 
ancestor  of  the  family  of  that  name  once 
quite  prominent  in  that  town. 

[47] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT     AND     ITS     MAKERS 

Grignon  did  a  considerable  business,  for 
debts  were  due  his  estate  from  persons  in 
Windham,  Colchester,  Lebanon,  New  Lon- 
don, and  Derby. 

Next  in  chronological  order  was  Corne- 
lius Kierstead,  a  Dutchman  by  descent, 
baptized  in  New  York  in  1675.  He  fol- 
lowed his  trade  in  that  city  until  about 
1722,  when  he  appeared  in  New  Haven  with 
two  other  New  York  men  and  leased  land 
in  Mount  Carmel  and  in  Wallingford  for 
the  purpose  of  mining  copper.  They  were 
not  the  first  men  to  search  for  the  red  metal 
in  that  region,  for  Governor  Jonathan 
Belcher  and  other  Boston  men  had  sunk 
thousands  of  pounds  in  copper  mines  in 
Wallingford,  and  the  net  results  or  profits, 
so  far  as  can  be  learned,  were  the  holes  in 
the  ground. 

It  is  perhaps  needless  to  say  that  Kier- 
stead's  venture  was  not  successful,  but  the 
incident  apparently  settled  him  as  a  per- 
manent resident  of  New  Haven.  On  the 
map  of  New  Haven,  dated  1724,  his  home 
is  indicated  as  on  the  west  side  of  Church 
Street,  a  short  distance  below  Wall  Street, 
and  just  north  of  the  home  of  Moses  Mans- 

[48] 


■S^.sc-g  a 
5  Ls.KI 


00  rt  5  "C  • 
u  o  %  2  c  u 
'fa-*  o"^ 


*    »  J>      ■   B  "a 


Plate 


EARLY    SILVER    OF    CONNECTICUT    AND     ITS    MAKERS 

field,  the  school-teacher,  whose  father-in- 
law  he  was.  He  was  still  living  in  New 
Haven  in  1753,  for  in  that  year  the  select- 
men placed  him  in  charge  of  a  conservator, 
giving  as  a  reason  that,  "on  account  of  his 
advanced  age  and  infirmities,  he  is  become 
impotent  and  unable  to  take  care  of  him- 
self." 

In  a  few  Connecticut  churches  we  find 
examples  of  his  work:  a  caudle-cup  in  the 
Congregational  Church,  North  Haven;  a 
baptismal  basin  and  a  two-handled  beaker 
in  the  First  Congregational  Church,  Mil- 
ford;  and  a  tankard  belonging  to  Trinity 
Church,  New  Haven.  There  are  also  two 
other  pieces  extant  made  by  Kierstead, — 
a  fine  punch-bowl  and  a  large  candlestick. 
He  was  certainly  a  most  skilful  craftsman. 

The  next  to  record  is  John  Potwine, 
who  was  born  in  Boston  in  1698,  and  fol- 
lowed his  trade  there  until  about  1737, 
when  he  moved  to  Hartford.  For  a  time 
he  seems  to  have  continued  as  a  silversmith, 
for  three  beakers  made  by  him  are  owned 
by  the  Congregational  Church,  Durham, 
and  two  by  the  church  in  South  Windsor. 
A  fine  silver-hiked  sword  is  owned  in  Hart- 

[491 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT    AND     ITS     MAKERS 

ford,  which  was  doubtless  made  by  him,  and 
probably  once  belonged  to  Governor  Wol- 
cott.  In  the  recent  silver  exhibition  held 
in  Boston  were  several  examples  of  his 
work,  which  prove  that  he  was  a  silversmith 
of  very  high  order. 

He  was  apparently  for  a  while  in  partner- 
ship in  Hartford  with  a  man  named  Whit- 
ing, and  later  was  a  merchant  in  Coventry 
and  East  Windsor,  dying  in  the  latter  place 
in  1792. 

Shortly  after  Potwine's  advent  appeared 
another  silversmith,  not  of  Connecticut  lin- 
eage,— Pierre,  or  Peter,  Quintard,  who  was  of 
Huguenot  extraction  and  was  born  in  1700. 
He  was  registered  as  a  silversmith  in  New 
York  in  173 1,  but  in  1737  moved  to  what 
is  now  South  Norwalk  and  there  passed  the 
rest  of  his  life,  dying  in  1762.  There  is  a 
caudle-cup  made  by  him  belonging  to  the 
Congregational  Church,  Stamford;  and  in 
the  Metropolitan  Museum,  New  York,  are 
two  fine  beakers  bearing  his  mark.  His 
inventory  shows  that  he  also  made  gold  and 
silver  jewelry,  rings,  beads,  and  knee  and 
shoe  buckles. 

New  Haven,  the  richest  town  in  the  Col- 

[50] 


Made  by  Timothy  Bontecou.      Height  SY2  inches.     Owned  by 
Mrs.  Oliver  Swan,  Meriden.      Mark:  T.  B.  incised 


Plate  of  the  First  Congregational  Church,  Derby 

Flagon,  height  17:!i<>  inches.     Made  by  Ebenezer  Chittenden. 

Chalices,   height  5%  inches.     Made  by  Miles  Gorham,  1804 

v.     .      \  E.  Chittenden  in  rectangle 

I  M.  G.  in  rectangle 


Plate  xvii. 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT    AND     ITS     MAKERS 

ony,  was  evidently  quite  a  centre  of  silver- 
smithing.  The  map  of  1748  shows  that 
Timothy  Bontecou,  also  of  Huguenot  de- 
scent, was  located  on  the  west  side  of  Fleet 
Street,  which  ran  from  State  Street  to  the 
wharf.  He  was  born  in  New  York  in*  1693, 
but  learned  his  trade  in  France,  and  was 
certainly  living  in  New  Haven  as  early  as 
1735.  He  was  the  victim  of  an  outrage  by 
a  mob  of  British  soldiers  at  the  time  of  the 
invasion  in  1779,  and  died  in  1784. 

From  1770  to  1800  the  junction  of  Church 
and  Chapel  Streets  was  a  favorite  stand  for 
silversmiths.  On  the  southwest  corner 
were  located  the  following  men  in  the  order 
named:  Captain  Robert  Fairchild,  Abel 
Buel,  and  Ebenezer  Chittenden. 

Captain  Fairchild  was  born  in  Stratford 
in  1703.  Shortly  afterwards  the  family 
moved  to  Durham,  and  there  the  young 
man  first  followed  his  trade.  He  became 
prominent,  representing  the  town  in  the 
General  Assembly  from  1739  to  1745;  was 
an  auditor  of  the  Colony  in  1740  and  re- 
ceived the  title  of  captain  in  1745.  He 
removed  to  Stratford  about  1747,  and  in 
1772  to  New  Haven,  and,  when  a  very  old 

[51] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT    AND     ITS     MAKERS 

man,  to  New  York.  It  is  probable  that, 
while  in  Stratford,  John  Benjamin  was  his 
apprentice.  He  was  certainly  a  silver- 
smith, but  only  one  or  two  pieces  of  his 
silver-work  are  known  to  be  in  existence. 
It  is  said  that  he  made  the  brass  weather- 
cock still  capping  the  spire  of  the  Episcopal 
Church,  which  was  used  as  a  target  by  a 
battalion  of  British  soldiers  quartered  in 
Stratford  during  the  winter  of  1757-58. 

Captain  Fairchild  was  an  excellent  silver- 
smith, and  a  number  of  pieces  of  his  work 
are  still  in  existence,  including  two  tankards, 
several  beakers,  an  alms-basin,  two  braziers, 
and  many  spoons.  While  located  at  the 
corner  of  Church  and  Chapel  Streets,  New 
Haven,  on  land  leased  of  Trinity  Church, 
he  must  have  been  quite  active  in  his  trade. 
We  find  him  advertising  in  April,  1774,  that 
"he  carries  on  the  goldsmith's  and  jeweller's 
business  at  his  shop  adjoining  his  house 
near  the  south-east  corner  of  the  green, 
where  he  will  do  all  sorts  of  large  work, 
such  as  making  of  tankards,  cans,  porrin- 
gers, tea-pots,  coffee-pots,  and  other  kinds 
of  work.  Those  who  please  to  favor  him 
with  their  custom  may  depend  on  having 

[52] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT    AND     ITS     MAKERS 

their  work  well  done  and  on  reasonable 
terms." 

In  1779,  to  vary  the  monotony  of  trade, 
he  advertises  a  few  hogsheads  of  choice 
West  India  rum  for  cash,  and  in  1784  he 
tells  us  that  he  has  opened  a  house  of  en- 
tertainment, and  has  provided  a  new  and 
convenient  stable.  The  same  newspaper 
announces,  under  date  of  November  26, 
1794,  that  Captain  Robert  Fairchild,  late 
of  this  city,  has  just  died  in  New  York. 

His  next-door  neighbor  on  the  west,  and 
separated  from  him  by  a  narrow  lane  now 
known  as  Gregson  Street,  was  Abel  Buel. 
He  was  a  man  of  singular  versatility  and 
inventive  genius.  He  was  born  in  1742 
in  that  part  of  Killingworth  now  known 
as  Clinton.  He  learned  the  silversmith's 
trade  of  Ebenezer  Chittenden  in  East  Guil- 
ford, now  Madison. 

Before  he  had  attained  his  majority,  he 
was  convicted  of  counterfeiting,  and  con- 
fined in  New  London  jail.  On  account  of 
his  youth  he  was  soon  released,  but  to  the 
day  of  his  death  he  bore  the  scars  of  cropped 
ear  and  branded  forehead. 

Like  other  Connecticut  silversmiths,  his 

[53] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT     AND     ITS     MAKERS 

activities  were  not  confined  to  his  trade. 
He  must  have  moved  to  New  Haven  about 
1770,  and  he  was  soon  appealing  for  custom 
in  the  local  press.  He  had  already  in- 
vented a  machine  for  grinding  and  polish- 
ing precious  stones,  which  had  attracted 
considerable  attention,  and  in  recognition 
of  this  service  his  civil  disabilities  were 
removed  by  the  General  Assembly  In  his 
shop,  the  old  Sandemanian  meeting-house, 
he  had  established  a  type  foundry,  for 
which  he  received  a  grant  from  the  General 
Assembly. 

In  1775  he  was  in  some  trouble  with  the 
Rivingtons,  printers  of  New  York,  and  had 
apparently  absconded;  but  he  soon  re- 
turned and  again  made  his  appeals  to  the 
public.  In  1778  he  established  a  public 
vendue.  In  1784  he  advertised  his  map  of 
the  United  States,  which,  he  said,  is  the  first 
engraved  by  one  man  in  America.  His  ad- 
vertisement of  1796,  perhaps  better  than 
any  other,  gives  an  idea  of  his  activities: 

"Mariners'  and  surveyors'  compasses  and 
other  instruments  cleaned  and  rectified,  en- 
graving, seal  and  die  sinking,  seal  presses, 
enameled  hair  worked  mourning  rings  and 

[54] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT    AND     ITS     MAKERS 

lockets,  fashionable  gold  rings,  earrings  and 
beads,  silver,  silver  plated,  gilt  and  pol- 
ished steel  buttons,  button  and  other  cast- 
ing moulds,  plating  mills,  printers  blacks, 
coach  and  sign  painting,  gilding  and  var- 
nishing, patterns  and  models  of  any  sort 
of  cast  work;  mills  and  working  models  for 
grinding  paints  as  used  in  Europe;  working 
models  of  canal  locks,  drawings  on  parch- 
ment, paper,  silk,  etc.,  by  Abel  Buel,  Col- 
lege Street,  New  Haven,  where  there  is  a 
decent  furnished  front  chamber  to  let  by 
the  week." 

The  same  year  he  advertised  that  "he 
has  on  exhibition  the  wonderful  negro  who 
is  turning  white,"  the  authenticity  of  which 
phenomenon  was  vouched  for  by  no  less  a 
person  than  Timothy  Dwight,  President  of 
Yale  College.  In  1798  he  advertised  a  use- 
ful machine  for  planting  onions  and  corn 
which  he  had  invented.  In  1795  he  estab- 
lished a  cotton  manufactory,  which  Presi- 
dent Ezra  Stiles,  of  Yale,  stated  in  his  diary 
would  prove  a  success. 

He  was  the  coiner  of  the. first  authorized 
Connecticut  coppers,  produced  in  a  ma- 
chine of  his   own   invention.     His    roving 

[55] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT    AND     ITS     MAKERS 

disposition  carried  him  to  various  parts  of 
the  world,  and,  like  other  rolling-stones,  he 
gathered  no  moss,  but  died  in  great  poverty 
about  1825. 

There  are  still  extant  various  pieces  of 
silver  made  by  Buel,  notably  four  two- 
handled  cups  belonging  to  the  Congrega- 
tional Church,  North  Haven. 

The  following  story,  gathered  from  the 
Colonial  Records  of  Connecticut,  shows  that 
he  did  important  work  and  was  considered 
a  skilled  silversmith: 

In  1771  the  General  Assembly,  desiring 
to  show  its  grateful  sense  of  the  many  im- 
portant services  rendered  by  Richard  Jack- 
son, Esq.,  of  London,  who  for  some  time 
had  acted  as  the  agent  of  the  Colony  at 
the  Court  of  Great  Britain,  manifested  its 
appreciation  by  adopting  a  vote  of  thanks, 
and  appropriating  a  sum  not  to  exceed 
£250  to  procure  some  proper  and  elegant 
piece  or  pieces  of  plate  to  be  presented  to 
him.  It  was  to  be  engraved  with  the  arms 
of  the  Colony,  and  inscribed  with  some 
proper  motto  expressive  of  respect. 

The  commission  for  this  work  was  given 
to  Abel  Buel,  and  he  forthwith   began  to 

[56] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT    AND     ITS     MAKERS 

fashion  the  plate;  but  some  months  later, 
because  of  the  certainty  that  there  would 
be  large  duties  to  pay  when  the  plate 
entered  England  and  the  fear  that  Buel 
would  not  be  able  to  complete  the  work  in 
time,  the  commission  was  withdrawn  from 
him  and  given  to  a  silversmith  in  England. 

Just  west  of  Bud's  stand  were  the  house 
and  shop  of  Ebenezer  Chittenden.  He  was 
born  in  Madison  in  1726,  and  for  a  number 
of  years  worked  at  his  trade  in  that  place, 
removing  to  New  Haven  about  1770,  pos- 
sibly in  company  with  his  son-in-law  and 
apprentice,  Abel  Buel. 

Thirteen  beakers,  and  a  flagon  17M 
inches  high,  made  by  him,  have  been 
located  in  Connecticut  churches.  He  was 
a  man  of  excellent  connections.  His  mother 
was  a  sister  of  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson, 
of  Stratford,  father  of  Episcopacy  in  Con- 
necticut, as  he  is  called,  and  first  president 
of  King's  College,  now  Columbia  Univer- 
sity, New  York,  and  his  brother  Thomas 
was  the  first  governor  of  Vermont.  He 
was  quite  intimately  associated  as  a  skilled 
mechanic  and  friend  with  Eli  Whitney,  in- 
ventor of  the  cotton-gin,  and  for  many  years 

[57] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT    AND     ITS     MAKERS 

he  was  either  warden  or  vestryman  of 
Trinity  Church,  New  Haven.  He  died  in 
1812. 

On  the  other  side  of  Church  Street  from 
Robert  Fairchild  was  located  the  silver- 
smith shop  of  Richard  Cutler,  while  on 
Court  Street  were  the  home  and  shop  of 
Captain  Phineas  Bradley,  who  was  a  skilled 
workman  and  saw  service  in  the  Revolu- 
tion. His  brother,  Colonel  Aner  Bradley, 
was  also  a  silversmith.  He  was  born  in 
New  Haven  in  1753,  learned  his  trade  there, 
and  served  in  the  Revolutionary  War  at 
Crown  Point  and  Ticonderoga,  and  was 
wounded  in  the  Danbury  raid,  1777.  He 
retired  as  colonel  of  militia.  After  the  war 
he  settled  in  Watertown  and  followed  his 
trade  until  his  death  in  1824. 

Marcus  Merriman,  who  was  born  in 
Cheshire  in  1762,  came  to  New  Haven 
when  a  boy.  He  saw  naval  and  military 
service  in  the  Revolution,  part  of  the  time 
in  the  company  of  Captain  Bradley. 

His  first  advertisement  appeared  in  1787, 
and  thereafter  he  was  constantly  asking  for 
custom.  He  apparently  did  a  large  busi- 
ness for  the  times  in  his  shop  on  State  Street. 

[58] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT    AND     ITS     MAKERS 

Thirteen  of  his  beakers  and  a  caudle- 
cup  have  been  found  in  Connecticut 
churches,  and  his  spoons  are  not  uncom- 
mon in  New  Haven  County.  It  is  probable 
that  he  produced  more  silver  than  any 
other  early  Connecticut  silversmith.  He 
died  in  1850. 

Amos  Doolittle,  born  in  Cheshire  in  1754, 
certainly  began  his  business  career  as  a 
silversmith,  having  learned  his  trade  of 
Eliakim  Hitchcock,  of  that  place.  He  ad- 
vertised several  times  that  he  worked  in 
silver,  but  the  greater  number  of  his  an- 
nouncements had  relation  to  engraving, 
and  are  of  interest.  He  successively  ad- 
vised the  public  that  he  has  published  a 
mezzotint  of  the  Hon.  John  Hancock  in 
colors;  Mr.  Law's  Collection  of  Music; 
that  he  does  printing  on  calico;  that  he 
engraves  ciphers,  coats-of-arms,  and  de- 
vices for  books,  or  book-plates,  and  maps, 
plans,  and  charts;  that  he  has  published 
the  Chorister's  Companion,  and  that  he 
does  painting  and  gilding;  and  in  1790  that 
he  is  publishing  an  elegant  print  of  Federal 
Hall,  the  seat  of  Congress,  with  a  view  of 
the  Chancellor  of  State  administering  the 

[59] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT    AND     ITS     MAKERS 

oath  of  office  to  the  President.  He  died 
in  1832. 

Other  silversmiths  of  the  period  in  New 
Haven  might  be  mentioned,  such  as  John 
and  Miles  Gorham,  Charles  Hequemburg, 
and  Samuel  Merriman,  who  all  did  credit- 
able work. 

In  Hartford,  after  Potwine's  day,  per- 
haps the  most  skilled  craftsman  was  Colonel 
Miles  Beach,  who  was  born  in  Goshen  in 
1742,  and  followed  his  trade  in  Litchfield 
until  1785,  when  he  moved  to  Hartford  and 
opened  a  shop  about  ten  rods  south  of  the 
bridge  on  Main  Street.  His  first  partner 
was  Isaac  Sanford,  and  later  he  was  in 
business  with  his  former  apprentice,  James 
Ward.  Spoons  bearing  his  mark  are  found 
in  Hartford  and  vicinity,  and  there  are  four 
interesting  chalices,  made  by  him  in  1794, 
belonging  to  the  Congregational  Church  in 
Kensington,  Berlin.  He  saw  active  service 
in  the  Revolution,  and  he  was  chief  engi- 
neer of  the  Hartford  Fire  Department  from 
its  organization  in  1789  to  1805.  He  died 
in  1828. 

James  Ward,  just  mentioned,  was  one 
of   a   family   of   silversmiths.     His    father, 

[60] 


♦  iJVfi&hJif* 


..•^. 


Business  Card  of  Beach  &  Ward. 
Found  in  the  back  of  an  old  watch 


Si '  jm  -:  is    he  «>"?«^ra  i 


®iii4!i'i.y,. 


^ 


■ 
9 


Card  of  Joseph  Carpenter 


Plate 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT    AND     ITS     MAKERS 

brother,  and  probably  grandfather,  all  fol- 
lowed the  trade  in  Guilford.  He  was  born 
in  Guilford  in  1768  and,  as  already  stated, 
was  apprenticed  to  Colonel  Beach.  After 
the  firm  of  Beach  &  Ward  was  dissolved  in 
1798,  Ward  for  a  time  continued  alone  at 
a  shop  about  ten  rods  north  of  the  bridge  at 
the  "Sign  of  the  Golden  Kettle."  A  num- 
ber of  silver  pieces  made  by  him  have  been 
found  in  Connecticut  churches,  as  well  as 
spoons  in  private  hands.  He  was  a  good 
craftsman  and,  like  other  Connecticut 
smiths,  did  not  strictly  confine  himself  to 
his  trade,  for  we  later  find  him  making  and 
dealing  in  pewter  worms  for  stills,  dyer's, 
hatter's,  and  kitchen  coppers,  and  various 
sorts  of  brass  and  copper  goods,  and  casting 
church  bells.  He  became  quite  prominent 
and  influential  in  Hartford,  and  died  in  1856. 
No  early  Hartford  silversmith  ever  used 
the  advertising  columns  of  the  local  press 
to  a  greater  extent  than  did  James  Tiley, 
born  in  1740.  His  first  announcement  was 
in  1765,  which  states  that  "he  still  does  gold 
and  silversmith's  work  at  his  shop  on  King 
Street,  Hartford."  This  was  the  old  name 
for  State  Street.     Another  notice  says  that 

[61] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT    AND     ITS     MAKERS 

his  shop  was  a  little  east  of  the  Court-house 
on  the  street  leading  to  the  ferry.  When 
the  brick  school-house  which  stood  on  the 
site  of  the  present  American  Hotel  in  State 
Street  was  blown  up  by  a  gunpowder  explo- 
sion in  May,  1766,  Tiley  was  among  the 
number  of  those  seriously  injured.  For 
many  years  he  pursued  his  calling  until 
financial  difficulties  overtook  him  in  1785. 
Later  he  advertised  that  he  had  opened  a 
house  of  entertainment  in  Front  Street  at 
the  sign  of  the  "Free  Mason's  Arms."  He 
was  a  charter  member  of  St.  John's  Lodge 
of  Free  Masons  in  1763,  and  he  was  also 
a  charter  member  of  the  Governor's  Guard, 
now  First  Company  of  Governor's  Foot- 
guard,  at  its  organization  in  177 1.  He 
died  in  the  South  in  1792. 

Next  door  to  Tiley  in  1774  was  Thomas 
Hilldrup,  watch-maker,  jeweler,  and  silver- 
smith, from  London,  whose  motive  it  was 
to  "settle  in  Hartford  if  health  permits  and 
the  business  answers."  He  therefore  re- 
quested the  candid  public  to  make  a  trial 
of  his  abilities,  assuring  them  he  was  regu- 
larly bred  to  the  finishing  branch  in  London. 
He  later  returns   his  unfeigned  thanks   to 

[62] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT     AND     ITS     MAKERS 

those  who  favored  him  with  their  custom 
or  interest  since  his  commencing  business 
here,  their  favors  having  exceeded  his  most 
sanguine  expectations.  Somewhat  later  his 
shop  was  situated  south  of  the  Court-house 
at  the  sign  of  the  "Taylor's  Shears." 

In  1777  he  was  appointed  postmaster 
and  began  a  series  of  migrations  to  various 
locations.  While  occupying  this  position, 
it  is  related  that  Sheriff  Williams  drove  up 
to  the  office  one  day  and  was  informed  that 
it  had  been  removed.  He  replied,  "Hill- 
drup  moves  so  often  he  will  have  moved 
again  before  I  get  there." 

Hilldrup  was  evidently  blessed  with  a 
vein  of  humor.  In  one  of  his  announce- 
ments he  states  "  he  has  silver  watches  which 
will  perform  to  a  punctilio,  and  others  that 
will  go  if  carried,  and  he  has  a  few  watches 
on  hand  upwards  of  one  year  which  he  is 
willing  to  exchange  with  the  owners  for 
what  the  repairs  amount  to." 

He  died  about  1794,  and,  judging  by  the 
amount  of  his  inventory,  he  did  not  find 
later  that  the  favors  of  a  discriminating 
public  exceeded  his  most  sanguine  expecta- 
tions. 

[63] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT    AND     ITS     MAKERS 

Other  silversmiths  of  the  period  in  Hart- 
ford were  Ebenezer  Austin,  whose  shop  was 
on  the  west  side  of  Main  Street,  a  few  doors 
south  of  Pearl  Street;  and  Caleb  Bull  and 
Norman  Morrison,  the  latter  a  grandson  of 
Dr.  Norman  Morrison.  Bull  and  Morrison 
worked  in  partnership,  although  one  sus- 
pects Morrison  was  the  silversmith  of  the 
firm.  He  was  reared  in  the  family  of 
Captain  Tiley.  He  was  lost  at  sea  in  1783, 
and  shortly  after  Caleb  Bull,  who  had  mar- 
ried his  widow,  advertised  the  silversmith's 
tools  for  sale,  and  says  they  are  the  most 
complete  in  the  State.  Captain  Bull  was 
a  member  of  Hartford's  first  City  Council, 
and  was  one  of  the  first  board  of  directors 
of  the  Hartford  Bank. 

At  a  somewhat  later  date  Jacob  Sargeant 
was  working  in  a  shop  next  door  to  the 
United  States  Hotel.  His  spoons  are  still 
found  in  Hartford  County. 

Middletown's  earliest  silversmith  was 
apparently  Timothy  Ward,  the  son  of  Cap- 
tain James,  and  born  there  in  1742.  Little 
is  known  concerning  him,  and  that  little  in- 
dicates that  he  was  lost  at  sea  in  1767  or 
'68.     In  November,  1766,  he  made  a  will  in 

[64] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT    AND     ITS     MAKERS 

which  he  says  he  is  "bound  on  a  long  sea 
voyage,  and  may  never  see  land  again." 

The  Boston  commissioners'  records  on 
July  10,  1767,  announce  the  arrival  of  the 
sloop  "Patty"  from  Connecticut,  Peter 
Boyd,  master,  with  Timothy  Ward  on 
board,  a  goldsmith  from  Middletown.  Less 
than  a  year  later,  on  May  2,  1768,  his  will 
was  proved  in  court,  and  his  inventory  was 
filed,  containing  a  list  of  silversmith's  tools, 
which  tell  us  that  he  was  a  craftsman  of 
merit. 

Apparently,  the  most  skilful  of  Middle- 
town's  silversmiths  was  Major  Jonathan 
Otis.  He  was  born  in  Sandwich,  Mass.,  in 
1723,  and  began  business  in  Newport,  R.I., 
where  he  continued  until  1778.  As  he  was 
an  ardent  patriot,  and  the  town  was  in  the 
hands  of  the  British  at  that  time,  he  moved 
to  Middletown,  and  died  there  in  179 1. 
Eleven  of  his  beakers  and  cups  have  been 
found  in  Connecticut  churches, — six  in  Mid- 
dletown, four  in  SufBeld,  and  one  in  Durham. 

Antipas  Woodward,  born  in  Waterbury 
in  1763,  began  business  in  Middletown  in 
May,  1 79 1,  taking  the  shop  under  the  print- 
ing-office vacated  by  Timothy  Peck,   an- 

[651 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT     AND     ITS     MAKERS 

other  smith,  who  was  moving  to  Litchfield. 
Moses,  the  brother  of  Antipas  Woodward, 
was  running  this  printing-office  overhead 
at  that  time;  but  the  building  was  soon  de- 
stroyed by  fire,  and  Antipas  then  moved 
to  the  shop  formerly  occupied  by  Major 
Otis.  He  must  have  been  an  excellent  silver- 
smith, judging  from  a  fine  porringer  made 
by  him  which  is  owned  in  Boston. 

Other  smiths  of  the  period  were:  Samuel 
Canfield  (i 780-1801),  who  also  was  sheriff, 
and  whose  shop  in  1792  was  ten  rods  south 
of  the  town-house,  and  in  1796  a  few  rods 
north  of  the  printing-office.  His  one  time 
apprentice,  William  Johonnot,  whose  shop 
was  south  of  the  corner  of  Court  and  Main 
Streets  (perhaps  the  site  now  occupied  by 
the  Farmers  and  Mechanics  Savings  Bank), 
opposite  Mrs.  Bigelow's  tavern,  and  who 
about  1792  moved  to  Vermont. 

Joseph  King,  whose  shop  in  1776  was  at 
the  northwest  corner  of  Main  Street  and 
Henshaw  Lane,  now  known  as  College 
Street.  Apparently,  his  business  was  not  a 
profitable  one,  for  it  devolved  on  Samuel 
Canfield,  in  his  official  position  as  sheriff, 
to  make  a  number  of  calls  on  his  brother 

[66] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT    AND     ITS     MAKERS 

craftsman  during  a  period  of  years  which 
must  have  been  unhappy  ones  for  Joseph. 

In  November,  1785,  David  Aird,  with 
true  British  pride,  announced  in  the  local 
press  that  he  was  a  watchmaker  from 
London,  and  that  he  carried  on  the  busi- 
ness in  all  its  branches  two  doors  north 
of  the  printing-office;  whereupon  Daniel 
Walworth,  with  due  and  becoming  humility, 
informed  the  public  that,  while  he  was  not 
from  London,  he  was  a  goldsmith  and  brass- 
founder,  and  that  he  performed  all  kinds 
of  gold,  silver,  copper,  and  brass  work  in 
a  shop  nearly  opposite  the  printing-office. 

About  1800,  Judah  Hart  and  Charles 
Brewer  were  working  at  the  silversmith's 
business  in  a  shop  which  stood  at  the  north- 
east corner  of  Main  and  Court  Streets. 
Two  or  three  years  later  Hart  moved  to 
Norwich,  and  Brewer  took  as  a  partner 
Alexander  Mann.  In  a  year  or  two  Mann 
left  him,  and  began  to  manufacture  guns. 
Brewer  continued  to  do  business  at  the 
same  old  stand,  in  later  years  as  a  jeweler 
only,  and  died  in  i860.  Spoons  bearing  his 
mark  are  common  in  Middlesex  and  New 
Haven  Counties,  and  in  the  Congregational 

[67] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT     AND     ITS     MAKERS 

Church  in  Durham  are  three  beakers  made 
by  him  and  presented  in  1821. 

It  has  been  stated  that  some  of  the  Con- 
necticut workmen  turned  their  attention  to 
various  pursuits;  in  fact,  were  jacks-of-all- 
trades.  Abel  Buel  has  been  cited  in  illus- 
tration of  this  statement,  and  the  activities 
of  Joel  Allen,  who  was  born  in  Southington 
in  1755,  deserve  equal  prominence.  He 
was  a  spoon-maker,  engraver,  brass-worker, 
carpenter,  general  storekeeper,  and  tinker, 
and  yet  he  did  excellent  work.  Opportu- 
nity has  been  given  to  examine  his  day 
book,  running  from  1787  to  1792. 

In  his  shop  he  sold  everything  from  pinch- 
beck *  jewelry  to  castor  hats,  including 
spelling-books,  Bibles,  dry  goods,  groceries, 
drugs,  meats,  and  hardware.  In  1790  he 
moved  to  Middletown,  and  began  to  en- 
grave for  the  silversmiths,  working  princi- 
pally for  Samuel  Canfield.  In  1790  he  ren- 
dered a  bill  to  the  Congregational  Church 
in  Middletown  for  taking  down  the  organ, 
adjusting  and  mending  the  pipes,  putting 

*Chr.  Pinchbeck,  London  watchmaker,  eighteenth  century, 
invented  an  alloy  of  three  or  four  parts  of  copper  with  one  of 
zinc,  much  used  in  cheap  jewelry. 

[68] 


Work  of  Connecticut  Silversmiths 


Two  upper  cans,  height  4%  inches,  made  by  Jonathan  Otis. 

Lower   can,     height   5Vi»    inches,    by    S.     Parmele ;     porringer, 

diameter  4%   inches,  by  J.   Gardiner,   and   pepper  box,   height 

3  inches,  by  J.  Benjamin. 

f  S.  Parmele  (script)  in  cartouche 

J.  Gardner  in  rectangle 


Marks    ^ 


Otis 
I.  B. 


script)  in  rectangle 
in  oval 


" 


Silver  Belonging  to  Congregational  Church,  Guilford 

Basin,  diameter  91!'  inches;   middle  beaker,  height  4^  inches. 

Made    by   Samuel    Parmele.      Former  given   by   Mrs.    Deborah 

Spinning,  1768;  the  latter  by  Mrs.  Ruth  Naughty,  1773.     The 

end  beakers,   height  4%    inches.     Made  by  B.    Benjamin  and 

given  by  Lydia  Fowler,  1825 

Marks   ^  ^'  Parme'e  (script)  in  cartouche 

I  B.  Benjamin  in  rectangle 

Plate  xix. 


Chalices  belonging  to  Congregational   Church,  Parish  of  Ken- 
sington, Town  of  Berlin.     Made  by  Col.  Miles  Beach  in   1793. 
Height  5%  inches.      Mark:   Beach  in  rectangle 


PI; 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT    AND     ITS     MAKERS 

in  new  ones,  mending  the  bellows,  and 
charged  £9  for  all  this  work. 

He  engraved  the  map  of  Connecticut 
published  by  William  Blodgett  in  1792, — an 
excellent  piece  of  work.  He  made  book- 
plates, engraved  seals  and  coats-of-arms; 
he  painted  and  gilded  chairs  and  mirrors; 
and,  when  Major  Jonathan  Otis,  silversmith, 
died  in  1791,  he  lettered  his  coffin.  During 
this  busy  career  he  found  time  to  make 
silver  spoons  and  jewelry.     He  died  in  1825. 

Guilford  was  the  home  of  two  excellent 
silversmiths,  Billious  Ward  and  Captain 
Samuel  Parmele. 

Ward,  the  son  of  William  Ward,  who  was 
probably  a  silversmith,  was  born  in  1729. 
Two  patens,  five  beakers,  and  a  number  of 
spoons  have  been  found  in  Connecticut 
marked  "B.  W.,"  and  doubtless  made  by 
him.  He  died  in  Wallingford  in  1777  of 
small-pox,  whither  he  had  gone  to  visit  his 
intimate  friend,  Rev.  Samuel  Andrews,  rec- 
tor of  the  Episcopal  Church,  who  at  that 
time  was  in  dire  disgrace,  owing  to  his  sym- 
pathies with  the  British  side  of  the  Revo- 
lutionary quarrel,  and  was  confined  to  his 
own  premises. 

(691 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT    AND     ITS     MAKERS 

Captain  Samuel  Parmele,  who  received 
his  title  in  1775  and  saw  active  service  in 
the  Revolution,  was  born  in  1737.  He  was 
prominent  in  Guilford,  and  was  an  excel- 
lent workman.  In  the  Congregational 
Church  in  that  town  are  a  baptismal  basin 
and  a  beaker  made  by  him,  and  spoons 
marked  "S.  P."  and  "S.  Parmele"  are  not 
uncommon  among  the  older  families  of  that 
vicinity. 

Norwich,  which,  as  every  one  knows, 
was  at  an  early  date  one  of  the  most 
important  and  wealthy  towns  in  the  Colony, 
had  a  number  of  skilled  smiths.  Perhaps 
the  most  important  was  Thomas  Harland, 
who  was  born  in  England  in  1735  and  came 
to  Norwich  in  1773,  where  he  died  in 
1809. 

In  addition  to  the  trade  of  silversmithing 
he  was  an  expert  watch  and  clock  maker. 
In  1790  he  had  twelve  workmen  in  his 
employ,  his  annual  output  being  two  hun- 
dred watches  and  forty  clocks.  He  also 
produced  quantities  of  jewelry,  which  is 
described  in  his  advertisements  as  "Bril- 
liant, garnet  and  plain  gold  rings,  broaches, 
hair  sprigs,  ear  jewels,  and  gold  and  silver 

[70] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT     AND     ITS     MAKERS 

buttons."  His  assortment  of  plate  con- 
sisted of  "Tea  pots,  sugar  baskets,  cream- 
ieures,  tea  tongs  and  spoons." 

Among  his  apprentices  afterwards  in 
business  in  Norwich  were  David  Greenleaf, 
Nathaniel  Shipman,  and  William  Cleve- 
land, grandfather  of  President  Grover  Cleve- 
land. Eli  Terry,  inventor  of  the  Connecti- 
cut shelf  clock,  also  learned  his  trade  of 
Harland,  as  did  Daniel  Burnap,  the  ex- 
pert clock-maker  and  silversmith  of  East 
Windsor. 

Joseph  Carpenter,  born  in  1747,  was  an- 
other enterprising  silversmith  whose  shop 
still  stands  fronting  on  the  old  town  green. 
In  it  was  lately  found  an  engraved  copper 
plate  from  which  his  business  cards  were 
printed. 

His  name  is  surrounded  by  a  graceful 
grouping  of  silver  tea-set,  cake-basket, 
mug,  spoons,  tongs,  buckles,  watches,  rings, 
a  clock,  and  a  knife-box,  illustrating  the 
articles  in  which  he  dealt.  At  the  top  ap- 
pear the  words  "Arts  and  Sciences"  on  a 
ribbon  scroll,  while  cherubs  floating  in 
clouds  hover  over  these  treasures. 

Other  silversmiths  working  in  Norwich 

[71] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT     AND     ITS     MAKERS 

were  William  Adgate,  Samuel  Noyes,  Gur- 
don  Tracy,  Charles  Whiting,  Philip  and 
Roswell  Huntington  in  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, and  Judah  Hart  and  Alvan  Willcox 
of  the  firm  Hart  &  Willcox,  Thomas  C. 
Coit  and  Elisha  H.  Mansfield  of  firm  Coit 
&  Mansfield,  and  William  Gurley  in  the 
early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

New  London,  another  enterprising  and 
wealthy  town,  had  its  quota  of  silversmiths. 
Mention  has  already  been  made  of  Daniel 
Deshon  (1697-1781). 

John  Gray  (1 692-1 720)  and  Samuel  Gray 
(1684-17 1 3),  both  born  in  Boston,  followed 
their  trade  in  New  London  at  an  early 
date.  Two  interesting  pieces  made  by  the 
latter,  a  can  and  a  snuff-box,  were  in  the 
recent  silver  exhibition  in  the  Museum  of 
Fine  Arts,  Boston. 

Captain  Pygan  Adams  was  the  son  of 
Rev.  Eliphalet  Adams,  pastor  of  the  Con- 
gregational Church,  New  London,  succeed- 
ing the  Hon.  Gurdon  Saltonstall  when  the 
latter  became  governor  of  Connecticut. 

Captain  Pygan  (171 2-1 776)  was  a  promi- 
nent man,  and  represented  the  town  in  the 
General  Assembly  at  most  of  the  sessions 

[721 


Porringer  with  a  cover,  diameter  4;;i  inches.     Made  by 

Thomas  Harland  ;  the  property  of  Mrs.  Thomas 

Harland,  Norwich 

Mark:   Harland  in  rectangle  between  profile  and  eagle 

displayed 


Plate  xx 


In  the  successful  siege  of 
Louisbourg  in  the  island  of 
Cape  Breton  in  1745,  Capt. 
Andrew  Ward  of  Guilford 
commanded  one  of  the  Con- 
necticut Companies.  He 
was  a  teetotaler  and  in- 
stead of  spending  his  grog 
money  for  rum,  saved  it,  and 
when  he  returned  to  his 
home,  had  the  money 
wrought  into  four  spoons 
and  his  initials  A.  W.  and 
Louisbourg  engraved  on 
the  backs  by  his  kinsman, 
BilliousWard.  One  of 
these  spoons  is  shown  in  the 
accompanying     illustration 


Paten  made  by  Billious  Ward.  Diameter  8%  inches,  height 
2%  inches.  Johnson  crest  engraved  on  the  top.  Owned  by 
Mrs.  Susan  Johnson  Hudson,  Stratford,  formerly  owned  by  her 
ancestor,  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson,  first  President  of  Kings 
College,  now  Columbia  University 
Mark:   B.  W.  in  rectangle,  engrailed  at  one  end 

Plate  xxii. 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT     AND     ITS     MAKERS 

from  1753  to  1765.  He  was  appointed  by 
the  Assembly  to  many  responsible  positions, 
as  auditor,  overseer  of  the  Mohegan  In- 
dians, and  one  of  the  builders  of  the  light- 
house at  New  London  in  1760.  He  was 
also  deacon  of  his  father's  church.  He  is 
called  a  merchant  in  the  History  of  New 
London;  but  his  father,  in  a  deed  of  gift 
to  Pygan  in  1736,  calls  him  a  goldsmith, 
and  Joshua  Hempstead  in  his  diary  has 
three  entries  which  show  that,  when  he 
needed  anything  in  the  goldsmith's  line, 
he  patronized  Captain  Pygan.  In  1735  he 
bought  of  him  a  pair  of  gold  sleeve-buttons, 
in  1738  some  plated  buttons,  and  in  1744 
Pygan  replaced  the  broken  mainspring  of 
his  watch. 

Additional  evidence  puts  him  in  the  class 
of  the  best  silversmiths  Connecticut  has 
produced.  In  1910  a  fine  porringer  bear- 
ing the  mark  "P.  A."  was  sold  in  Guilford. 
A  rat-tailed  spoon  and  tankard  owned  in 
Lyme,  and  several  fine  spoons  owned  on 
the  eastern  end  of  Long  Island,  are  also 
so  marked.  No  other  known  silversmith 
had  these  initials. 

John  Champlin  (1 745-1 800)  also  worked 

[73] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT     AND     ITS     MAKERS 

in  New  London,  and  evidently  did  a  good 
business.  In  1779  his  shop  was  entered 
by  burglars,  and  the  list  of  stolen  articles 
gives  one  an  excellent  idea  of  the  contents  of 
a  gold  and  silversmith's  shop  of  that  period: 
"12  strings  of  gold  beads;  40  pairs  of  silver 
shoe  buckles  and  a  parcel  of  silver  knee 
buckles;  3  or  4  silver  .plated  and  pinchbeck 
knee  buckles;  6  silver  table  spoons;  3  dozen 
tea  spoons ;  10  silver  watches ;  a  large  quan- 
tity of  watch  chains,  keys,  main  springs, 
stock  buckles,  stone  rings,  jewels,  broaches, 
etc."  On  November  30,  1781,  he  notified 
his  old  customers  and  others  that,  since 
the  destruction  of  his  shop  by  the  enemy,* 
"he  has  erected  a  new  one  by  his  dwelling 
in  Main  Street." 

John  Hallam  (175  2-1 800)  was  another 
enterprising  silversmith.  In  1773  he  ad- 
vertised, "At  his  shop  near  the  signpost, 
makes  and  sells  all  kinds  of  goldsmiths  and 
jewellers  work  as  cheap  as  can  be  had  in 
this  Colony."  He  engraved  the  plates  for 
the  bills  of  credit  issued  by  the  Colony  in 
I77S- 

*The  burning  of  New  London  by  a  British  force  under  com- 
mand of  Benedict  Arnold. 

[74] 


m  ) 


Beaker,  height  31:V46  inches,  made  by  J.  P.  Trott,  owned  by 

Mrs.  Carl  J.  Viets,  New  London 

Mark:  J.  P.  T.  in  rectangle 


Plate  xxiii 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT     AND     ITS     MAKERS 

His  inventory  on  file  in  the  Probate  Court 
contained  the  following  plate:  two  tank- 
ards, a  can,  a  cup,  two  porringers,  milk- 
pot,  pepper-box,  sugar-bowl,  punch-ladle, 
and  many  spoons. 

John  Gardiner  (1734-1776),  one  of  the 
family  associated  with  Gardiner's  Island, 
who  fashioned  the  beautiful  chalice  belong- 
ing to  Berkeley  Divinity  School,  must  have 
been  a  smith  of  exceptional  skill. 

Jonathan  Trott,  a  Boston  silversmith, 
was  a  skilful  craftsman,  and  in  that  town 
are  still  preserved  a  number  of  pieces  of 
plate  made  by  him.  He  went  to  Norwich 
in  1772,  and  there  kept  the  Peck  Tavern 
for  a  short  time.  He  moved  thence  to 
New  London,  where  he  died  in  1815.  His 
two  sons,  Jonathan,  Jr.,  and  John  Proctor, 
were  also  silversmiths,  and  there  is  in  Lyme 
a  tea-set  of  the  style  popular  about  18 10 
marked  "I.  T.,"  and  probably  made  by 
Jonathan,  Jr.  John  Proctor  did  a  large 
business  for  the  times,  and  much  plate, 
both  hollow  and  flat,  bears  his  trade- 
mark. 

Belonging  to  the  Congregational  Church 
in  Middlebury  are  two  old  cups,  or  beakers, 

[75] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT     AND     ITS     MAKERS 

presented  by  Isaac  Bronson  and  Josiah 
Bronson  in  the  year  1800.  They  do  not  bear 
the  marks  of  the  maker. 

These  interesting  vessels  were  probably 
made  by  some  near-by  silversmith,  and 
the  only  man  of  that  vicinity  whose  rec- 
ord makes  it  safe  to  assume  that  he  was 
the  craftsman  in  question  is  Israel  Holmes, 
who  was  born  in  Greenwich  in  1768,  and 
came  to  Waterbury  in  1793. 

His  house  stood  on  the  site  of  the  present 
St.  John's  rectory.  In  1802  he  was  en- 
gaged to  go  to  South  America  by  a  silver 
mining  company,  and  died  on  the  voyage. 
His  inventory,  filed  in  August  that  year 
in  the  local  Probate  Court,  contains  a  list 
of  silversmith's  tools,  which  shows  that  he 
was  a  smith  of  considerable  practice  and 
experience. 

There  ought  to  be  many  spoons  in  that 
vicinity  made  by  Holmes.  Joseph,  Jesse, 
and  Stephen  Hopkins,  and  Edmund  Tomp- 
kins at  an  earlier  date  than  Holmes,  were 
goldsmiths  in  Waterbury;  but  it  is  prob- 
able that  their  work  was  confined  to  the 
making  of  jewelry. 

Joseph  Hopkins's   peculiar  claim  to   dis- 

[76] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT    AND     ITS     MAKERS 

tinction  was  in  the  number  of  times  his 
shop  was  visited  by  burglars.  Five  times 
between  1766  and  1772  was  he  the  victim 
of  these  outrages,  either  because  his  stock 
was  of  more  than  ordinary  value  or  because 
of  the  enmity  of  some  neighbor,  and  in  1780 
his  shop  was  destroyed  by  an  incendiary 
fire, — a  record  of  misfortune  unique  among 
Connecticut  silversmiths. 

Although  there  is  no  evidence  that  many 
of  Connecticut's  silversmiths  fashioned  arti- 
cles more  pretentious  than  spoons,  it  was 
probably  due  not  to  lack  of  ability,  but  to 
absence  of  demand. 

Captain  Elias  Pelletreau,  of  Southamp- 
ton, L.I.,  was  a  smith  of  excellent  reputa- 
tion, who  fashioned  many  pieces  of  plate. 
His  day  book  shows  that  he  was  called  on 
to  produce  tankards,  porringers,  tea-pots, 
silver-hilted  swords;  in  fact,  everything 
that  a  full  purse  could  demand. 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolution  he 
removed  to  Simsbury,  Conn.,  where  he 
resided  for  a  few  years.  An  examination 
of  his  day  book  shows  that  not  once  was 
he  called  upon  during  that  period  to  fashion 
hollow-ware  plate.  His  work  was  con- 
mi 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT     AND     ITS     MAKERS 

fined  to  spoons  and  the  jewelry  and  trink- 
ets in  demand  in  that  region. 

This  list  of  early  Connecticut  silversmiths 
is  by  no  means  complete.  There  were 
many  others  who  did  excellent  and  credit- 
able work,  and  were  successful  and  capa- 
ble men;  but  a  sufficient  number  have  been 
mentioned  to  show  that  Connecticut  has 
reason  to  be  proud  of  the  record,  especially 
considering  the  limited  field  in  which  these 
men  were  obliged  to  work  and  the  strong 
competition  from  larger  and  wealthier  towns 
than  were  to  be  found  in  this  Colony. 

The  question  of  high  prices,  about  which 
we  hear  so  much  nowadays,  was  evidently 
as  troublesome  one  hundred  and  fifty  years 
ago.  In  the  issue  of  the  Connecticut  Cou- 
rant  for  August  17,  1767,  a  two-column  arti- 
cle appeared,  discussing  exports,  imports, 
and  home  manufactures,  urging  lower  prices 
on  all  articles  made  in  this  Colony  by  arti- 
ficers and  mechanics,  and  complaining  that 
they  are  eager  to  raise  prices  when  prices 
rise,  but  are  very  slow  to  reduce  them  when 
prices  fall. 

Two  enterprising  gold  and  silversmiths, 
Joseph  Hopkins,  of  Waterbury  (whose  shop 

[781 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT    AND     ITS     MAKERS 

had  so  many  times  been  broken  into  by- 
thieves),  and  Martin  Bull,  of  Farmington, 
considered  that  this  complaint  gave  an  ex- 
cellent opportunity  to  gain  a  little  patriotic 
publicity  and  at  the  same  time  to  advertise 
their  wares.  In  the  issue  of  August  24, 
1767,  the  following  letter  was  printed: 

"We,  the  subscribers,  goldsmiths  of  Wa- 
terbury  and  Farmington,  being  convinced 
of  the  truth  of  the  sentiments  expressed 
in  this  paper  No.  138,  and  sensible  of  the 
obligation  that  lies  upon  every  person  in 
this  popular  Colony  to  conduct  so  as  will 
have  a  natural  tendency  to  advance  the 
good  of  the  whole;  hereby  inform  the 
public  that  (notwithstanding  we  have  the 
vanity  to  believe  that  our  demands  have 
ever  been  short  of  any  goldsmith  in  this 
Colony)  we  are  determined  to  serve  all 
our  customers  for  the  future,  demanding 
only  seven-eighths  of  our  usual  acquire- 
ments for  labour;  excepting  in  making 
silver  spoons  and  silver  buttons,  which  has 
ever  been  lower  than  the  wages  of  most 
other  tradesmen. 

Joseph  Hopkins. 

Martin  Bull." 

[79] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT    AND     ITS     MAKERS 

It  has  long  been  a  current  tradition  that 
many  of  the  silversmiths  were  also  black- 
smiths, and  the  following  reply  to  the  letter 
by  Hopkins  and  Bull  shows  that  the  tra- 
dition is  based  on  fact,  although  it  is  certain 
both  these  gentlemen  were  skilled  artisans 
and  of  good  standing  in  their  respective 
communities.  In  the  issue  of  August  31, 
1767,  we  read  the  following  letter: 

"Mr.  Green:  In  your  last,  two  persons 
calling  themselves  Goldsmiths  'Inform  the 
Public  that  they  have  the  vanity  to  believe 
their  demands  have  ever  been  short  of  any 
Goldsmith's  in  this  Colony.'  Vanity  in- 
deed, with  great  propriety!  When  in  the 
article  of  Gold  Necklaces  (in  which  they 
have  been  so  celebrated)  they  have  had  a 
price  equal  to  any  one,  reckoning  the  Labour 
and  the  advance  on  the  Gold; — and  it  is 
surprising  those  gentlemen  did  not  see  into 
what  a  dilemma  their  expressive  vanity 
leads  them;  for  they  'Are  determined  to 
serve  all  their  Customers  for  the  future'  at 
a  rate  short  of  the  former — viz:  'Demand- 
ing only  seven-eighths  of  their  usual  ac- 
quirements for  Labour.'  Why  this  alter- 
ation?    Is  it  because  they  are  determined 

[80  1 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT    AND     ITS     MAKERS 

to  engross  the  business  by  representing  to 
the  Public  that  they  sell  cheaper  than  any- 
body else — Vanity! — Or  is  it  not  rather 
because  they  are  conscious  to  themselves  of 
having  injured  their  customers  by  over- 
rating Labour  done  by  Blacksmiths  and 
Tinkers,  and  mean  to  make  restitution  that 
way;  for  they  seriously  express  a  sense  of 
the  obligation  that  lies  upon  'Every  person 
in  this  popular  Colony  to  conduct  so  as  will 
have  a  natural  tendency  to  advance  the 
good  of  the  Whole.' 

"But  for  men  to  set  up  themselves  for 
Standards  for  others,  that  have  acquired 
their  skill  by  hire  of  journeymen — it  is  to 
be  wished  the  Legislative  Body  would  pass 
an  act  that  no  man  should  set  himself  up 
at  any  trade  without  having  served  a  reg- 
ular Apprenticeship  of  seven  years,  and 
have  a  Certificate  from  his  master.  Then 
we  should  not  see  every  Blacksmith  and 
Tinker  turn  Goldsmith. " 


[81] 


EARLY  CONNECTICUT  SILVER- 
SMITHS. 

THIS  list  does  not  include  the  names  of 
those  who  began  to  work  at  the  trade 
after  1830.  Probably  the  majority  of  these 
men  made  only  spoons  and  jewelry.  How- 
ever, many  of  them  made  articles  of  more 
importance  than  spoons,  for  now  and  then 
some  unexpected  evidence  of  this  fact  comes 
to  light,  proving  that  the  ability  to  fashion 
silver  into  various  shapes  and  utensils  was 
not  uncommon. 

That  the  number  of  examples  still  extant 
is  so  small  is  due  to  two  causes:  first,  the 
lack  of  demand  and  consequent  limited 
production ;  second,  the  melting-pot, — that 
final  receptacle,  until  recently,  of  old  plate, 
exchanged  for  new  or  sold  because  of  the 
desire  to  realize  its  money  value. 

Many  of  these  men  advertised  as  silver- 
smiths and  jewelers  and  sometimes  as 
watchmakers.  This  latter  term  undoubt- 
edly generally  meant  what  its  use  to-day 
indicates:  that  they  mended,  repaired,  and 
regulated  watches.  But  they  should  not 
all  be  classed  under  this  head.  The  inven- 
tories and  advertisements  of  Thomas  Har- 
land  and  Joseph  Keeler  prove  conclusively 

[82] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT    AND     ITS     MAKERS 

that  they  made  watches.  Harland  is  said 
to  have  had  an  annual  output  of  two  hun- 
dred; but  the  first  considerable  attempt 
to  manufacture  watches  took  place  in  the 
Pitkin  shop  in  East  Hartford, — a  venture 
from  which  indirectly  grew  the  American 
Waltham  Watch  Company. 

Born        Died 

Adgate,  William  Norwich  1744—1779 

Adams,  Pygan  New  London  1712—1776 

Son    of    Rev.  Eliphalet  Adams.     For  further   notes    see 

page  72. 

Allen,  Joel  Southington  and  Middletown  1755—1825 
His  shop  and  store  were  located  in  that  part  of  Southing- 
ton  called  Plantsville.  Moved  to  Middletown  about 
1790.     See  page  68. 

Austin,  Ebenezer  Hartford  1733 — 

Born  in  Charlestown,  Mass.  Moved  to  Hartford  in 
1764.  Served  in  the  Revolution.  Advertised  in  1768, 
1780,  1788.  About  the  latter  date  moved  to  New  York. 
In  1818  was  listed  among  the  pensioners  of  Revolution 
living  in  New  York. 

Avery,  John  Preston  1732—1794 

Was  a  farmer  and  self-taught  silversmith.  Made  clocks, 
shoe  and  knee  buckles,  spoons  and  beads.  He  was  jus- 
tice of  the  peace  and  held  court.  Four  of  his  sons  were 
silversmiths. 

Avery,  John,  Jr.  Preston  1755-1815 

Son  of  John  above. 

Avery,  Robert  Staunton        Preston  1771—1846 

Son  of  John.  Captain  of  Militia:  When  his  father  died, 
he  abandoned  the  trade. 

Avery,  Samuel  Preston  1760-1836 

See  John  Avery. 

[83] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT     AND     ITS     MAKERS 

Born        Died 

Avery,  William  Preston  1765—1798 

See  John  Avery. 

Babcock,  Samuel  Middletown  and  Saybrook  1788 — 1857 
Born  in  Saybrook.  Collector  of  customs  there.  Moved 
to  Middletown,  and  advertised  in  1812.  His  shop  was  a 
few  doors  north  of  the  Episcopal  Church. 

Balch,  Ebenezer  Hartford  and  Wethersfield  1723—1808 
Born  in  Boston,  and  learned  his  trade  there.  When  he 
became  of  age,  he  moved  to  Hartford,  and  in  1756  to 
Wethersfield.  Goldsmith  and  clockmaker.  A  number 
of  early  spoons  have  been  found  marked  E.  BALCH. 

Barrows,  James  Madison      Tolland  1809 — 

Working  at  his  trade  in  1828  in  Tolland.  Born  in  Mans- 
field. 

Bartholomew,  Roswell  Hartford  1781—1830 

Born  in  Harwinton.  In  1804  he  became  a  member  of  the 
firm  Ward  &  Bartholomew,  in  1809  Ward,  Bartholomew 
&  Brainard. 

Beach,  Isaac  New  Milford 

His  name  appears  signed  to  a  subscription  paper  dated 
1788.  Whence  he  came  is  not  known.  In  1791  he 
bought  a  plot  of  ground  on  which  a  shop  was  standing, 
occupied  by  himself  and  Noadiah  Mygatt,  saddler.  In 
1794  he  sold  the  shop  and  apparently  left  the  town. 

Beach,  Miles  Litchfield  and  Hartford  1742—1828 

Son  of  Adna  Beach.  Selectman,  1777;  grand  juror, 
1773.  Major  in  the  Revolution,  later  Colonel  of  Mili- 
tia.    See  page  60. 

Beecher,  Clement  Berlin  and  Cheshire  1778—1869 

In  1801  advertised  in  Connecticut  Courant  that  he  was 
in  the  "Gold  and  silversmithing  business:  likewise  brass 
founding,  in  Berlin,  opposite  the  Academy."  He  was  a 
clever  workman,  but  very  eccentric  and  peculiar,  due,  it 
was  believed,  to  an  unfortunate  love  affair  in  his  youth. 
In  1818  he  was  living  in  Cheshire  on  a  farm  on  the  road 
leading  to  Milldale.  At  one  time  he  conducted  his 
business  in  that  town  under  the  name  Clement  Beecher 
&  Co.  He  once  made  the  remark  that  he  "hated  to 
sell  things  because  it  broke  the  assortment."  He  called 
his  shop  and  farm  the  "New  Jerusalem."  To  the  prod- 
uce which  he  raised  and  the  spoons  and  gold  beads  which 

[841 


■jmamtmm 


Barzillai  Benjamin 

1774-1844 

Bridgeport  and  New  Haven 

From  an  oil  portrait 


Plate  xxiv. 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT    AND     ITS     MAKERS 

he  made  he  gave  the  same  name,  and  his  New  Jeru- 
salem apples,  vegetables,  and  spoons  were  in  demand 
among  the  people  of  Cheshire,  Meriden,  and  Berlin. 
He  was  at  times  an  itinerant  silversmith,  and  traveled 
about  the  region,  carrying  in  his  cart  forge  and  anvils 
and  the  various  tools  of  his  craft.  Many  specimens  of 
his  work  have  been  found  marked  C.  B.,  particularly 
among  the  older  families  of  the  district.  He  was  also 
an  inventor  and  patented  a  number  of  articles,  among 
others  a  washing-machine  which  he  trundled  about  in 
a  wheelbarrow,  to  exhibit  its  merits  to  his  customers. 
In  his  old  age  he  grew  morose  and  lived  the  life  of  a 
hermit.  In  front  of  his  house  was  hung  a  great  belU 
possibly  of  his  own  founding,  which  he  rang  when  in 
need  of  assistance. 

Born        Died 

Benjamin,  Barzillai  1774—1844 

Bridgeport  and  New  Haven 
He  was  born  in  Milford.  For  many  years  he  lived  at 
what  is  now  262  East  Main  Street,  Bridgeport,  and  his 
silversmith  shop  adjoined  his  house.  George  Kippen  was 
his  partner  for  a  while.  In  New  Haven  his  shop  stood 
at  the  southwest  corner  of  Church  and  Chapel  Streets, 
where  Robert  Fairchild  had  once  been  located.  For  a 
few  years  he  did  business  in  New  York  also.  He  was 
a  skilful  smith,  and  many  examples  of  his  work  are  still 
to  be  found.  Belonging  to  the  First  Church,  Guilford, 
are  two  beakers  made  by  him,  and  a  fine  tea-set  and 
back  hair  comb  made  about  1815  are  owned  in  Union 
City,  and  are  examples  of  his  skill  as  a  craftsman.  His 
inventory  filed  in  the  Probate  Court,  Bridgeport,  con- 
tains a  long  list  of  silversmith's  tools.  His  son,  Everard 
Benjamin,  was  his  successor  in  1829  in  New  Haven. 
The  George  H.  Ford  Company,  successor  of  Everard,  is 
therefore  successor  of  Barzillai. 

Benjamin,  Everard  New  Haven  1807 — 1874 

Began  business  in  1829.  See  above.  For  many  years 
he  was  associated  with  George  H.  Ford.  Firm  was 
known  as  Benjamin  &  Ford. 

Benjamin,  John  Stratford  1730—1796 

Was  probably  an  apprentice  of  Robert  Fairchild.  Al- 
though a  member  of  the  Church  of  England,  he  was  an 
active  patriot  during  the  Revolution.  He  took  part  in 
the  battle  of  Ridgefield,  was  wounded  in  the  shoulder, 
and  carried  the  bullet  to  the  day  of  his  death.     In  May, 

[85] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT     AND     ITS     MAKERS 

1782,  he  was  promoted  from  Captain  to  Major,  and  later 
to  Colonel.  A  beautiful  pepper  caster  and  several  spoons 
made  by  him  are  still  extant.     See  page  52. 

Born        Died 

Benjamin,  Samuel  C.  New  Haven  1801 — 1831 

Son  of  Barzillai,  for  whom  he  was  working  when  he 
advertised  in  1819  that  he  was  located  a  few  rods  south- 
east of  the  Public  Green,  and  nearly  opposite  J.  Buck's 
City  Hotel.  He  made  jewelry  and  silverware.  Later 
he  was  a  teacher  in  a  school  for  young  ladies. 

Billings,  Daniel       Preston,  New  London  Co. 

He  was  located  in  Poquetannock  Village,  Preston,  and 
advertised  in  1795. 

Blackman,  John  Starr  Danbury  1777—1851 

He  was  a  clockmaker  as  well  as  silversmith.  His  shop 
was  south  of  the  Court  House  and  on  same  side  of  the 
street.  His  sons,  John  Clark  Blackman,  1808—1872, 
and  Frederick  Starr  Blackman,  1811 — 1898,  were  his 
apprentices.  The  former  moved  to  Bridgeport  and 
established  a  business,  and  the  latter  succeeded  to  his 
father's  business  in  Danbury.  Levi  Clark,  1801 — ,  was 
also  his  apprentice,  and  located  in  Norwalk. 

Blakslee,  William  Newtown  1795—1879 

Son  of  Ziba  Blakslee,  the  silversmith.  Desiring  to  perfect 
himself  in  his  trade,  when  twenty-one  years  old,  he 
journeyed  to  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  and  worked  with  French 
artisans,  intending  to  remain  there.  He  resided  in  the 
home  of  Madame  Bouye,  a  lady  of  culture.  He  worked 
hard,  studied  nights,  learned  to  speak  French  fluently, 
and  became  an  expert  silversmith  and  engraver.  He 
also  learned  the  clockmaking  art.  At  the  end  of  four 
years  he  returned  to  Newtown  for  a  visit.  While  there, 
he  fell  in  love  and  married,  and  decided  to  remain  in 
Newtown,  and  went  into  business  with  his  father.  He 
was  prominent  and  did  a  good  business. 

Blakslee,  Ziba  Newtown  1768—1825 

Born  in  Plymouth.  Came  to  Newtown  when  a  young 
man.  His  house  and  shop  stood  at  the  head  of  Newtown 
Street  on  the  road  leading  to  Brookfield.  He  worked  at 
the  gold  and  silversmith's  business,  cast  church  bells, 
made  surveyors'  instruments,  clocks,  and  watches.  Wil- 
liam Blakslee  was  his  son. 

[86] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT     AND     ITS     MAKERS 

Born        Died 

Bontecou,  Timothy  New  Haven  1693—1784 

Born  in  New  York  City,  and  learned  his  trade  in  France. 
Married  his  second  wife  in  New  Haven  in  1736.  He  sold 
his  shop  in  1775.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Church  of 
England,  and  was  registered  as  one  of  the  Congregation 
in  Stratford  in  1735,  and,  when  the  new  church  was 
built  in  1743/4,  he  contributed  £15.  When  Trinity 
Church,  New  Haven,  was  organized  in  1765,  he  became 
a  member  and  was  its  first  recorded  warden.  He  was 
buried  in  the  crypt  beneath  Trinity  Church,  which  at 
that  time  stood  on  Church  Street.  An  illustration  is 
shown  of  two  candlesticks,  doubtless  made  by  him. 
See  page  51. 

Bontecou,  Timothy,  Jr.  New  Haven  1723—1789 

Son  of  Timothy,  of  whom  he  learned  his  trade. 

Botsford,  Gideon  B.  Woodbury  1776—1866 

His  home  and  shop  were  in  what  is  now  known  as  Glebe 
House,  now  owned  by  the  Episcopal  diocese  of  Con- 
necticut, and  in  which  Rev.  Samuel  Seabury  was  elected 
first  bishop  of  Connecticut  and  of  the  United  States, 
by  the  clergy  there  assembled  in  1783.  Examples  of 
silver  made  by  Botsford  are  not  uncommon  in  that 
locality. 

Bradley,  Aner  New  Haven  and  Watertown  1753—1824 
Brother  of  Phineas,  the  silversmith.  For  additional 
notes  see  page  58. 

Bradley,  Phineas  New  Haven  1745—1797 

His  shop  and  house  stood  on  Court  Street.  Brother 
of  Colonel  Aner  Bradley.  Phineas  served  in  the  Revo- 
lution and  was  Captain  of  a  company  of  New  Haven 
men.  At  the  British  invasion  of  New  Haven,  July, 
1779,  he  did  valiant  service  with  his  men  at  the  bridge 
on  the  road  leading  to  Milford. 

Bradley,  Richard  Hartford  1787—1867 

Born  in  Hartford.  The  Directory  1825-28  gives  his 
location  as  Morgan  Street,  near  the  bridge.  Met  death 
at  the  hands  of  a  burglar  on  Thanksgiving  night.  For 
many  years  was  a  member  of  the  firm. 

Bradley  &  Bunce  Hartford 

Bradley,  Zebul  New  Haven  1780—1859 

From  1806  to  1817  he  was  a  member  of  the  firm  Marcus 
Merriman    &    Co.    and    Merriman    &    Bradley.     About 

[87] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT     AND     ITS     MAKERS 

the   year    1826   he   formed   a   partnership   with    Marcus 
Merriman,  Jr.,  under  the  name  of 
Bradley  &  Merriman. 

In  the  year  1847  the  Directory  of  New  Haven  contains 
the  advertisement  of  the  firm. 

Bradley,  Zebul,  &  Son 

Consisting  of  Zebul  Bradley  and  Gustavus  Bradley. 

Born        Died 

Brainard,  Charles  Hartford  1787—1850 

A  native  of  Wethersfield.  Member  of  the  firm  Ward, 
Bartholomew  &  Brainard,  afterwards  C.  Brainard  & 
Son  (Charles  H.). 

Breed,  John  Colchester  1752—1803 

Born  in  Stonington.  His  relative,  Gershom  Breed, 
had  dealings  in  Colchester,  and  this  influence  probably 
induced  John  to  move  to  that  town.  He  located  on  Town 
Street,  or  Governors  Road,  the  main  highway  leading 
from  New  London  to  Hartford.  He  married  in  1773 
Lucy  Bulkley,  a  member  of  an  influential  family  there. 
His  inventory  contains  a  considerable  list  of  silversmith's 
tools  as  well  as  farming  implements.  To  agriculture 
he  probably  devoted  the  last  few  years  of  his  life.  His 
widow,  who  died  in  1821,  left  the  sum  of  $500  to  be  ap- 
plied toward  building  a  home  for  the  poor  of  the  town. 

Brewer,  Charles  Middletown  1778—1860 

Born  in  Springfield,  Mass.  Learned  his  trade  of  Jacob 
Sargeant,  of  Hartford.  He  located  in  Middletown, 
October,  1800,  and  on  October  16,  that  year,  Judah  Hart 
and  Charles  Brewer  advertised  that  they  had  taken  a 
shop  a  few  rods  north  of  the  printing-office,  where  they 
would  carry  on  clockmaking,  watch  repairing,  and  gold 
and  silversmithing  in  all  its  branches.  In  December, 
1801,  they  had  removed  to  a  shop  opposite  the  new  meet- 
ing-house. This  partnership  was  dissolved  on  Septem- 
ber 21,  1803,  and  on  October  28,  that  year,  Brewer  formed 
a  partnership  with  Alexander  Mann  under  name  of 
Brewer  &  Mann,  which  lasted  until  April,  1805.  There- 
after Brewer  continued  alone.  The  jewels  belonging 
to  St.  John's  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  Masons,  and  two  beakers  of 
the  communion  vessels  of  the  Congregational  Church, 
Durham,  were  made  by  Brewer,  and  spoons  bearing  his 
mark  are  found  in  Middletown  and  near-by  towns. 

Brewer  &  Mann  Middletown 

See  above. 

[88] 


Charles  Brewer 

1778-1860 

Middletown 

Sketched  from  life  by  his  nephew,  William  S.  Stearns 


Plate 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT     AND     ITS     MAKERS 

Born        Died 
Brewster,  Abel  Canterbury  and  Norwich       1775 — 

Advertised  in  Canterbury  in  1797,  and  in  1804  gave 
notice  that  he  had  moved  to  Norwich,  and  in  1805  that 
he  was  selling  his  place  of  business  to  Judah  Hart  and 
Alvan  Willcox,  because  of  poor  health. 

Buel,  Abel  New  Haven  1742—1825 

In  1799  he  was  located  in  Hartford  on  Main  Street, 
opposite  the  North  Meeting-house,  making  silver, 
plated,  gilt,  steel,  brass,  and  iron  hiked  swords  and 
dirks,  pikes,  and  military  flags.  For  full  particulars  re- 
lating to  his  life  see  page  53. 

Buel,  John  New  Haven  and  Derby  1744—1783 

Brother  of  Abel  Buel.  Advertised  in  New  Haven, 
1779,  and  in  Derby  Neck,  1780-82.  Died  in  New 
Haven. 

Buel,  Samuel         Middletown  and  Hartford 

Advertised  in  former  place,  1777,  and  in  Hartford,  1779. 
A  Samuel  Buel  was  born  in  Killingworth,  1742;  died 
in  Westfield,  Mass.,  1819.  A  beaker  belonging  to 
Center  Congregational  Church,  Meriden,  bears  his 
mark,  S.B. 

Bull,  Caleb  Hartford  1746—1797 

Served  in  the  Revolution,  and  was  commissioned  Captain, 
January  1,  1777,  in  Colonel  Samuel  B.  Webb's  regiment. 
A  member  of  the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati.    See  page  64. 

Bull,  Martin  Farmington  1744—1825 

He  was  a  gold  and  silversmith  and  maker  of  silver 
buttons  and  spoons.  He  also  made  saltpeter  for  the 
army  when  needed  during  the  Revolution.  He  was  a 
deacon  of  the  Congregational  Church,  a  conductor  of 
church  music,  town  treasurer  for  eight  years,  clerk  of 
the  Probate  Court  for  thirty-nine  years.  A  strong 
patriot  and  a  writer  of  long  letters — appallingly  solemn 
— to  the  youth  of  the  village  when  at  college.  He  made 
a  book-plate  for  the  "Library  of  the  First  Society  in 
Farmington,"  founded  in  1795,  and  later  executed  a 
more  ornamental  plate.  See  Vol.  III.,  p.  187,  Ex  Libris 
Society. 

Burdick,  William  S.  New  Haven 

Advertised  in  1814  that  the  firm  of  Ufford  &  Burdick 
had  been  dissolved. 

[89] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT     AND     ITS     MAKERS 

Born  Died 
Burnap,  Daniel  Coventry  and  East  Windsor  1760 — 1838 
Learned  his  trade  of  Thomas  Harland,  of  Norwich. 
Began  business  in  Coventry.  About  1785  moved  to  East 
Windsor,  and  twelve  years  later  settled  in  what  is  now  known 
as  Andover.  Made  spoons,  buckles  and  repaired  watches 
and  jewelry. 
Advertised  in  1791  as  follows: — 

"Brass  Wheel'd  Clocks." 
"The  subscriber  having  for  a  number  of  years  applied 
himself  principally  to  the  business  of  Clock  making  and 
having  met  with  considerable  encouragement  in  the 
business,  takes  this  method  to  inform  the  publick  that 
although  he  works  in  many  other  branches  common 
for  those  in  the  silversmith  line  as  also  surveyor's  Com- 
passes, watch  repairing  &c,  yet  notwithstanding 
clockmaking  is  intended  as  the  governing  business  of 
his  shop  and  is  determined  that  no  pains  shall  be  want- 
ing to  merit  the  approbation  of  his  Customers.  Clocks 
of  various  kinds  may  be  had  at  his  shop  in  East  Windsor 
on  short  notice  on  the  most  reasonable  terms  (war- 
ranted). Those  parishes  that  may  be  in  want  of  publick 
clocks  may  be  supplied  at  the  above  shop  and  may 
depend  on  a  faithful  performance  by  the  publick's  ser- 
vant, Daniel  Burnap."  The  tools  with  which  he  en- 
graved the  silvered  dials  of  his  clocks  are  owned  by 
Albert  H.  Pitkin,  Hartford.  Experts  consider  that 
Burnap  made  as  fine  clocks  as  were  ever  produced  in 
New  England.  A  few  examples  of  his  silver-work  are 
still  extant. 

Burrill,  Theophilus  New  London  —1739 

Under  date  January  1,  1738/9,  Joshua  Hempstead 
wrote  in  his  diary,  "I  was  at  the  Town  Meeting  &  ye 
choice  of  Taverners  &  Theophilus  Burrill  a  goldsmith, 
aged  about  — .  Died  with  Convulsion  fitts:  he  be- 
longed to  Boston  but  hath  sojourned  in  Town  2  or  3 
years." 

Bushnell,  Phineas  Saybrook  and  Guilford  1741—1836 
Born  in  Saybrook.  Moved  to  Guilford  about  1795. 
Died  in  Branford.  Tradition  says  that  he  did  some 
silversmithing. 

Candee,  Lewis  Burton  Woodbury  1806—1861 

Born  in  Oxford.  He  was  in  partnership  with  Daniel 
Curtiss,  and  the  firm  was  known  as  Curtiss  &  Candee 
and  Curtiss,  Candee  &  Stiles. 

[90] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT    AND     ITS     MAKERS 

Canfield,  Samuel  Middletown 

He  was  living  in  Middletown  in  1780.  He  advertised 
1792-97.  During  the  years  1790-92  Joel  Allen,  en- 
graver and  silversmith,  did  more  or  less  work  on  silver 
for  Canfield.  In  1787  he  was  sheriff,  and  served  a  num- 
ber of  writs  of  attachment  on  his  brother  silversmith, 
Joseph  King,  to  recover  debts.  For  a  time  he  was  in 
partnership  with  a  man  named  Foot  (probably  William 
Foot).  In  1801  he  was  living  in  Lansingburg,  N.Y., 
and  in  1807  in  Scanticoke,  N.Y. 

Canfield  &  Foot  Middletown 

See  above.  Born       r>ied 

Carpenter,  Joseph  Norwich  1747 — 1804 

As  early  as  1769  he  was  in  business  in  a  shop  belonging 
to  his  stepfather.  This  shop  has  never  been  altered, 
and  retains  to-day  all  its  old  features.  His  son  Charles, 
who  settled  in  business  in  Boston,  learned  his  trade  of 
his  father,  as  did  also,  probably,  Rufus  and  Henry  Far- 
num,  prominent  silversmiths  of  Boston.     See  also  page  71. 

Case,  George  East  Hartford 

Advertised  in  1779. 

Champlin,  John  New  London  1745—1800 

Advertised  from  1768  to  1780.     See  page  73. 

Chapin,  Aaron  Hartford  1753—1838 

Born  in  Windsor.  His  name  appears  in  Hartford 
Directory  for  1825.  He  is  put  down  as  a  cabinet-maker 
and  jeweler  at  the  head  of  Trumbull  Street.  He  was 
deacon  in  First  Church.  Spoons  bearing  his  name  as 
silversmith  are  found  in  Hartford  and  vicinity. 

Chittenden,  Beriah  New  Haven  1751—1827 

He  was  son  of  Ebenezer,  and  probably  learned  his  trade 
of  him.  In  1787  he  advertised  that  his  shop  was  next 
door  to  the  printing-office  of  New  >  Haven  Gazette  and 
Connecticut  Magazine.  Later  he  lived  in  Durham, 
Milford,  Salisbury,  Kinderhook,  N.Y.,  and  Middle- 
bury,  Ohio. 

Chittenden,  Ebenezer  New  Haven  and  Madison  1726 — 1812 
See  page  57. 

Church,  Joseph  Hartford  1794—1876 

Born  in  East  Hartford.  His  father  moved  his  family 
to  Lee,  Mass.,  when  Joseph  was  quite  young,  and  estab- 
lished  the  first  paper-mill    in   Western    Massachusetts. 

[91] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT     AND     ITS     MAKERS 

Joseph  returned  to  Hartford  when  a  youth  and  learned 
the  silversmith's  trade,  and  established  his  business  on 
Ferry  Street,  after  having  been  with  Jacob  Sargeant 
and  Horace  Goodwin.  Later  he  moved  to  Main  Street. 
William  Rogers,  C.  C.  Strong,  and  L.  T.  Wells  were 
among  his  apprentices,  and  in  1840  he  sold  his  business 
to  the  latter  two  and  became  an  official  and  director 
of  the  JEtna.  Fire  Insurance  Company,  and  was  a  director 
of  the  Connecticut  River  Bank  and  vice-president  of 
Society  for  Savings.  Frederick  E.  Church,  the  land- 
scape painter,  was  his  son. 

Bom        Died 
Clark,  Joseph  Danbury  —1821 

In  1791  he  advertised  that  he  carried  on  the  clock  and 
watch  making  and  gold  and  silversmith  business  in  all 
its  branches  at  his  shop  near  the  printing-office.  He  was 
living  in  Danbury  in  1/77,  and  bore  arms  in  the  Danbury 
raid  of  that  year.  Prior  to  April  1,  1811,  he  moved  to 
Newburg,  N.Y.,  and  later  to  Alabama,  where  he  died 
about  1821. 

Clark,  Levi  Norwalk  1801—1875 

Born  in  Danbury,  and  learned  his  trade  of  his  father- 
in-law,  John  Starr  Blackman.  Settled  in  business  in 
Norwalk. 

Clark,  Peter  Q.  New  Haven 

Advertised  in  1810. 

Clark,  William  New  Milford  1750—1798 

Born  in  Colchester.  Settled  in  New  Milford  about 
1775.  He  built  a  house  soon  after,  in  which  he  kept 
tavern  and  carried  on  silversmith's  business.  He  adver- 
tised in  1774  and  1777.  His  inventory  shows  a  large 
number  of  silversmith's  tools.  When  the  Union  Li- 
brary was  established  in  1796,  the  first  meeting  was  held 
at  his  house.  He  seems  to  have  been  a  public-spirited 
man. 

Cleveland,  William  Norwich  1770—1837 

Son  of  Rev.  Aaron  Cleveland.  Born  in  Norwich.  After 
a  residence  of  some  years  in  New  London  and  New 
York,  returned  to  Norwich.  Made  a  deacon  of  First 
Congregational  Church  there  in  1812.  While  in  New 
London,  he  was  in  partnership  with  John  P.  Trott  under 
firm  name  Trott  &  Cleveland.  Married,  1793,  Margaret 
Falley.  His  son,  Richard  Falley,  was  the  father  of  the 
late    President,     Grover    Cleveland.     Deacon     William 

[92] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT     AND     ITS     MAKERS 

lived  in  later  years  in  Worthington  and  Salem,  Mass., 
and  Zanesville,  Ohio.         He  died  at  Black  Rock,  N.Y. 

Born        Died 
Coit,  Thomas  Chester  Norwich  1791—1841 

Born  in  Norwich.  His  family  moved  to  Pomfret  and 
then  to  Canterbury.  He  was  apprenticed  at  the  age  of 
fourteen.  Followed  the  trade  fourteen  years  in  Norwich, 
part  of  the  time  in  partnership  with  Elisha  H.  Mans- 
field (1816 —  ).  Later  moved  to  Natchez,  Miss., 
and  died  in  New  York. 

Coit  &  Mansfield  Norwich 

See  above. 

Copp,  Joseph  New  London 

Married  Rachel  Denison,  1757.  Advertised  in  1776  that 
his  shop  had  been  robbed. 

Curtiss,  Daniel  Woodbury  1801—1878 

He  established  a  manufactory  of  silver  articles  about 
1825,  making  spoons,  thimbles,  spectacles,  etc.,  asso- 
ciating with  him  Lewis  Burton  Candee  and,  later, 
Benjamin  Stiles  under  firm  names  of  Curtiss  &  Candee, 
and  Curtiss,  Candee  &  Stiles,  and  Curtiss  &  Stiles. 
Spoons  made  by  these  firms  are  frequently  found  in 
Connecticut.     Gave  up  the  business  in  1840. 

Curtiss  &  Candee  Woodbury 

See  above. 

Curtiss,  Candee  &  Stiles        Woodbury 
See  above. 

Curtiss  &  Stiles  Woodbury 

See  above. 

Curtis,  Joel     Wolcott,  Conn.,  and  Cairo,  N.Y.     1786— 
Silversmith  and  clockmaker. 

Curtis,  Lewis  1774—1845 

Farmington,  Conn.,  and  Hazel  Green,  Wis. 
His  little  red  shop  with  prominent  show  windows  still 
stands  in  Farmington  a  few  hundred  feet  north  of  the 
Country  Club.  It  was  originally  located  on  the  main 
street,  a  hundred  or  more  feet  west  of  what  is  now  known 
as  Elm  Tree  Inn.  Silversmith  and  clockmaker.  In 
1797  he  advertised  that  his  shop  had  been  entered  by 
burglars  and  a  number  of  silver  articles  stolen.  In 
1799  he  advertised  that  he  made  chime  clocks  that  played 

[93] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT     AND     ITS     MAKERS 

a  number  of  tunes  and  clocks  that  showed  the  moon's 
age,  etc.  He  probably  learned  his  trade  of  Daniel 
Burnap.  In  1820  he  moved  to  St.  Charles,  Mo.,  and 
later  to  Hazel  Green,  Wis.,  where  he  died. 

Born         Died 

Cutler,  Richard  New  Haven  1736—1810 

Born  in  Fairfield.  Settled  in  New  Haven  in  1760,  where 
he  purchased  a  large  lot  at  the  southeast  corner  of 
Church  and  Chapel  Streets,  and  erected  a  dwelling  and 
a  shop.  The  locality  is  still  known  as  Cutler's  Corner. 
He  was  long  engaged  in  the  gold  and  silversmith's  trade. 
He  was  a  Tory  in  his  sympathies  during  the  Revolution. 
He  formed  a  partnership  about  1767  with  Hezekiah 
Silliman  and  Ambrose  Ward.  See  Silliman.  In  1800 
he  took  his  sons  into  partnership. 

Cutler,  Richard,  Jr.  New  Haven  1774—1811 

See  above. 

Cutler,  Richard  &  Sons  New  Haven 

See  above. 

Cutler,  William  New  Haven  1785—1817 

See  above. 

Cutler,  Silliman,  Ward  &  Co.  New  Haven 
See  above. 

Dagget,  Henry  New  Haven  1741—1830 

A  merchant,  magistrate,  and  alderman  (Tuttle  Geneal- 
ogy). His  shop  or  store  burned  January  27,  1800. 
Caught  fire  from  goldsmith's  forge  in  back  room.  At 
one  time  was  in  partnership  with  Isaac  Beers. 

Davison,  Barzillai  Norwich  1740—1828 

Born  in  Pomfret.     In  business  in  Norwich. 

Dennis,  Ebenezer  Hartford  1753 — 

Advertised  in  Connecticut  Courant,  1782-85.  His  shop 
was  opposite  Dr.  Solomon  Smith's  office.  His  shop  was 
robbed  March  9,  1785.     Brother  of  George,  Jr. 

Dennis,  George,  Jr.  Norwich  1749 — 

Advertised  in  1778. 

Deshon,  Daniel  New  London  1697—1781 

He  was  of  Huguenot  descent.  Apprenticed  to  Captain 
Rene  Grignon.  When  Captain  Grignon  died  in  1715, 
he  bequeathed  to  Daniel  his  goldsmith's  tools,  and  his 

[94] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT     AND     ITS     MAKERS 

will  reads:  "I  desire  he  may  be  bound  out  to  some  suit- 
able person  in  Boston  'till  he  arrive  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
one  years  to  learn  the  trade  of  goldsmith."  It  is  sup- 
posed that  he  was  bound  out  to  John  Gray,  of  Boston, 
and  later  of  New  London.  Deshon,  having  learned  his 
trade,  settled  in  New  London,  and  became  a  well-known 
citizen,  and  married  Ruth,  the  daughter  of  Christopher 
Christophers,  Esq. 

Bora        Died 

Dexter,  Minerva  Middletown  1785 — 

On  March  28,  1810,  she  advertised  for  an  apprentice  to 
silversmith's  business.  Connecticut's  only  woman  silver- 
smith. But  it  is  not  probable  that  she  did  the  manual 
labor  of  the  craft. 

Dodge,  Ezra  New  London  1766—1798 

He  died  in  the  epidemic  of  yellow  fever  which  raged  in 
New  London  in  1798.  In  the  list  of  deaths  is  mentioned 
"Ezra  Dodge,  watchmaker,  clockmaker,  gold  and  silver- 
smith, brass  founder,  gun  smith,  locksmith,  grocer,  etc. 
An  ingenious  mechanick,  good  man,  and  valuable  citi- 
zen." 

Doolittle,  Amos  New  Haven  1754—1832 

Born  in  Cheshire.     See  page  59. 

Doolittle,  Enos  Hartford 

Advertised  as  clockmaker  and  silversmith,  1781-82. 
Stated  that  he  was  casting  church  bells  and  was  a 
brass  founder  on  west  side  of  Main  Street  in  1799.  He 
disappears  from  Hartford  records  about  1804.  Oppo- 
site page  260  of  Lyon's  "Colonial  Furniture  of  New 
England"  is  an  illustration  of  a  fine  clock  made  by 
Doolittle. 

Douglas,  Robert  New  London  1740—1776 

In  1766  he  advertised  that  his  silversmith's  shop  was 
next  door  to  Captain  Titus  Hurlbut's,  and  that  he  made 
shoe  and  knee  buckles,  chapes  and  tongues,  buttons,  stones, 
crystal  rings,  sparks,  and  cyphered  earrings.  Died 
during  Revolution  at  Canterbury,  on  his  way  home  from 
Boston  to  New  London,  in  the  service  of  his  country. 

Elderkin,  Alfred  Windham  1759—1833 

He  was  youngest  son  of  Colonel  Jedediah  Elderkin.  He 
was  for  a  time  in  business  with  his  neighbor,  John  Stam- 
ford.    Advertised  in  1792. 

[95] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT     AND     ITS     MAKERS 

Born        Died 

Elderkin,  Elisha  Killingworth         1753—1822 

Went  to  New  Haven  before  1777,  and  has  a  record  as  a 
Revolutionary  soldier.  After  the  war  he  settled  in  his 
home  town,  Killingworth. 

Elliott,  John  Aaron  Sharon  1788 — 

He  was  first  a  printer  and  then  learned  the  trade  of  watch- 
maker and  silversmith.  He  also,  for  a  time,  resided  in 
Red  Hook,  N.Y.,  and  in  Michigan,  but  returned  to 
Sharon.  His  name  appears  in  Business  Directory  of 
Connecticut,  published  in  1857. 

Ellsworth,  David  Windsor  1742—1821 

He  advertised  in  1772  and  again  in  1792. 

P     Fairchild,  Robert  1703—1794 

Durham,  Stratford,  and  New  Haven 
See  page  51. 

Fairchild,  Joseph  New  Haven 

In  business  there  in  1824. 

Fitch,  Allen  New  Haven  1785 — 

He  was  the  son  of  Nathaniel  and  Mary  Fitch.  In  1811 
he  bought  land  on  south  side  of  Crown  Street,  with  a 
frontage  of  18  feet,  and  built  a  shop  on  it.  He  advertised 
in  1808.  In  1813  an  advertisement  announced  that  the 
firm  of 

Fitch  &  Hobart  New  Haven 

is  dissolved. 

Foote,  William  East  Haddam         1772— 

Born  in  Colchester.  He  lived  at  various  times  in  Col- 
chester, Glastonbury,  and  East  Haddam.  Later  moved 
to  Michigan.  Advertised  in  East  Haddam  in  1796 — 97. 
See  Canfield  &  Foote. 

Francis,  Julius  C.  Middletown  1785—1862 

Was  member  of  firm  Hughes  &  Francis,  1807-09. 

Gallup,  Christopher  1764—1849 

North  Groton,  now  Ledyard 
The  house  where  he  lived  is  still  standing,  in  good  repair, 
and  the  room  in  which  Christopher  used  to  carry  on  his 
trade  is  still  shown  by  his  descendants.  Spoons  made  by 
him  are  in  use  among  Ledyard  families.  It  is  probable 
that  he  made  other  articles. 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT     AND     ITS     MAKERS 

Born        Died 

Gardiner,  John  New  London  1734—1776 

He  was  a  descendant  of  the  Gardiner  family  of  Gar- 
diner's Island,  and  was  a  son  of  Jonathan  and  Mary 
(Adams)  Gardiner.  Jonathan  was  a  physician,  and  was 
lost  at  sea,  1735  or  1736.  She  was  a  daughter  of  Rev. 
Eliphalet  Adams.  John,  the  silversmith,  was  an  excel- 
lent craftsman,  and  his  silver  is  still  found  in  New 
London,  Conn.  He  made  the  silver  cup  belonging  to 
Berkeley  Divinity  School.  His. inventory  filed  in  1777 
gives  a  long  list  of  silversmith's  tools,  including  two 
stamps  for  impressing  his  trade-marks. 

Gilbert,  Samuel  Hebron 

He  advertised  in  1798.  Spoons  bearing  his  mark  are 
frequently  found  in  Hebron  and  vicinity. 

Goodwin,  Allyn  Hartford  1797—1869 

In  business  with  his  brother  under  firm  name  H.  &  A. 
Goodwin.     Is  mentioned  in  Hartford  Directory,  1825. 

Goodwin,  Horace  Hartford  1787—1864 

He  learned  the  trade  of  jeweler  and  silversmith,  and 
first  located  in  New  Britain  and  soon  moved  to  Vermont. 
In  1811  he  returned  to  Hartford,  and  went  into  business 
with  his  brother  Allyn.  Their  store  and  shop  stood 
on  ground  now  occupied  by  Connecticut  Mutual  Life 
Insurance  Company.  In  1852  he  engaged  in  the  music 
business. 

Goodwin,  H.  &  A.  Hartford 

See  above. 

Goodwin,  Ralph  Hartford  1793—1866 

Mentioned  in  Directory  in  1828. 

Goodwin  &  Dodd  Hartford 

Advertised  in  1812. 

Gorham,  John  New  Haven 

Born  probably  in  Hamden.  Estate  of  John  Gorham  of 
that  town  was  administered  in  Probate  Court,  1790. 
John  was  his  youngest  son,  and  was  probably  the  silver- 
smith. He  advertised  in  1814.  His  spoons  are  still 
found  in  New  Haven  County. 

Gorham,  Miles  New  Haven  1757—1847 

The  six  cups  belonging  to  the  First  Congregational 
Church,  Derby,  were  made  by  him.  His  spoons  are 
still  found  in  vicinity  of  New  Haven. 

[97] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT     AND     ITS     MAKERS 

Born        Died 

Gorham,  Richard  1775—1841 

In  1806  Isaac  Townsend  leased  land  on  High  Street 
to  Samuel  Shethar  and  Richard  Gorham.  The  partners 
sold  the  lease  in  1809.  Spoons  marked  S  &  G  have 
been  found  in  the  vicinity  of  New  Haven.  See  Samuel 
Shethar. 

Graham,  Daniel  West  Suffield         1764— 

He  advertised  in  1789.     Married  in  Wethersfield,  1790. 

Gray,  John  New  London  1692—1720 

Born  in  Boston.  Came  to  New  London  about  1713  to 
administer  his  brother's  estate,  Samuel  Gray.  Daniel 
Deshon  was  probably  apprenticed  to  him.  He  mar- 
ried, 1714,  Mary  Christophers,  of  New  London.  He 
lies  in  the  old  cemetery  in  New  London. 

Gray,  Samuel  New  London  1684 — 1713 

Born  in  Boston.  He  married  in  1707  Mrs.  Lucy  Palmes, 
of  New  London.  He  came  to  the  town  before  1712. 
Joshua  Hempstead,  in  recording  his  death  in  his  diary, 
says,  "had  been  sick  a  long  time."  The  most  elaborate 
of  the  ancient  tombstones  in  the  cemetery  in  New  Lon- 
don is  the  one  erected  to  his  memory.  Brother  of  John 
Gray.  His  inventory  gives  evidence  that  he  was  an 
expert  silversmith.  Among  other  items  are  mentioned 
99  ounces  of  plate  in  3  tankards,  3  cups  and  spoons  and 
forks;  20|  ounces  of  plate  in  buckles  and  buttons;  76 
ounces  of  plate  in  silver  chafing  dishes,  etc. 

Greenleaf,  David  Norwich  1737—1800 

Born  probably  in  Bolton,  Mass.,  where  his  father  was  a 
physician.  Learned  his  trade  of  Thomas  Harland. 
Served  in  the  Revolutionary  War.  He  advertised  in 
Norwich,  1769.  He  was  in  Bolton,  Mass.,  1769-72. 
In  Coventry,  1778,  where  he  spent  the  rest  of  his  life. 
David  Greenleaf,  of  Hartford,  was  his  son. 

Greenleaf,  David,  Jr.  Hartford  1765—1835 

Advertised  in  Hartford,  1788-94.  Son  of  David,  of 
Norwich. 

Greenleaf,  Joseph  New  London  1778—1798 

Died  of  yellow  fever  there,  1798,  aged  twenty. 

Grignon,  Rene  Norwich  — 1715 

He  came  to  this  country  in  the  latter  part  of  seven- 
teenth century,  and  joined  French  settlement  at  East 
Greenwich,  R.I.  Driven  from  there  by  persecution. 
He  went  in   1691   to  Oxford,  Mass.,  and   about  1696  to 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT     AND     ITS     MAKERS 

Boston,  where  he  was  at  one  time  elder  of  the  French 
Church.  In  1699  he  was  again  living  in  Oxford,  but  the 
Deerfield  massacre,  1704,  drove  the  inhabitants  away, 
and  he  probably  then  settled  in  Norwich.     See  page  47. 

Griswold,  Gilbert     Middletown  and  Portland 

Early  part  of  last  century  was  practising  his  trade. 

Born        Died 

Gunn,  Enos  Waterbury  1770 — 

Was  born  in  what  is  known  as  Gunntown  on  the  edge 
of  present  Middlebury  and  Naugatuck.  Spoons  are 
still  found  in  that  vicinity  marked  E.  GUNN. 

Gurley,  William  Norwich  1764 — 

Born  in  Mansfield.     Advertised  in  1804  in  Norwich. 

Hallam,  John  New  London  1752—1800 

See  page  74. 

Hamlin,  William  1772— 

Born  in  Providence,  R.I.     Apprenticed  in  Middletown. 

Hanks,  Benjamin  1738—1810 

Windham,  Litchfield,  and  Ashford 
Born  in  Plymouth,  Mass.  He  advertised  in  Windham, 
1777-79;  in  Ashford,  1790.  At  the  October  session  of  the 
1783  General  Assembly  he  asked  for  the  exclusive  right  to 
manufacture  air  clocks,  which  was  granted.  The  me- 
morial he  presented  stated  that  he  had  "invented  and  ex- 
ecuted a  clock  which  winds  itself  by  the  effects  of  air  and 
will  continue  so  to  do  without  any  other  assistance  until 
the  parts  thereof  are  destroyed  by  friction."  At  that 
time  he  was  living  in  Litchfield.  (See  Kilbourne's  Chron- 
icles of  Litchfield,  1859,  p.  266.)  He  sold  to  Amherst, 
Mass.,  in  1793,  its  first  church  bell. 
Harland,  Thomas  Norwich  1735—1807 

After  serving  his  apprenticeship  in  England,  he  journeyed 
from  place  to  place,  wandering  as  far  East  as  Warsaw, 
probably  practising  his  craft  and  learning  foreign 
methods.  He  was  evidently  a  man  of  education,  for 
the  inventory  of  his  library  shows  an  unusual  collection 
for  that  period  of  works  of  the  best  historical  and  phil- 
osophical writers,  and  the  large  number  of  French  works 
would  imply  a  familiarity  with  that  tongue.  He  came  to 
America  in  1773 — a  year  of  great  excitement  in  the 
political  life  of  America — in  one  of  the  ships  which 
brought  the  taxed  tea  to  the  port  of  Boston.  He  did  not 
tarry  there,  but  settled  immediately  in  Norwich.  In 
his  first  advertisement  in  1773  he  states  that  "he  makes 

[991 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT     AND     ITS     MAKERS 

in  the  neatest  manner  and  on  the  most  approved  prin- 
ciples, horizontal,  repeating  and  plain  watches  in  gold, 
silver,  metal  or  covered  cases:  spring,  musical  and 
plain  clocks;  church  clocks  and  regulators:  he  also 
cuts  and  finishes  watch-wheels  and  fuzees  of  all  sorts  and 
dimensions,  neat  as  in  London  and  at  the  same  price."  In 
1774  he  says,  "he  has  now  compleated  an  assortment 
of  warranted  watches  viz.  Horizontal,  Showing  Sec- 
onds from  the  Centre,  Day  of  Month,  Skeleton  and  Eight 
Day  Watches  in  gilt,  tortoise  shell  and  plain  silver  Cases." 
His  mechanical  ingenuity  was  unusual,  for  in  1788  he 
made  for  Norwich  Landing  a  fire-engine  which  was  long 
in  use.  The  homestead  which  he  built  in  1779  is  still 
in  the  possession  of  his  descendants.  In  front  of  it, 
and  surrounded  by  the  piazza,  are  two  large  elm-trees 
said  to  have  been  planted  by  his  apprentice,  Nathaniel 
Shipman,  in  1781.     See  page  70. 

Born        Died 

Harland,  Thomas,  Jr.  Norwich  1781—1806 

Son  of  Thomas,  Sr.  Although  he  died  so  young,  he  had 
accumulated  a  large  inventory  in  his  business.  He  had 
for  sale  117  silver  and  gold  watches. 

Hart,  Eliphaz  New  Britain  and  Norwich  1789 — 1866 
Born  in  New  Britain.  Learned  trade  of  his  brother 
Judah.  He  settled  in  Greenville  in  Norwich  and  died 
there. 

Hart,  Judah  Middletown  and  Norwich  1777—1824 

Born  in  New  Britain.  Began  business  in  Middletown  in 
1800,  in  partnership  with  Charles  Brewer.  Formed 
partnership  with  Jonathan  Bliss  in  1803.  In  1805 
removed  to  Norwich,  and  formed  partnership  with  Alvan 
Willcox.  In  1807  in  business  alone.  In  1816  removed  to 
Griswold,  and  in  1822  to  Brownsville,  Ohio. 

Hart  &  Bliss  Middletown 

1803—1804.     See  above. 
Hart  &  Brewer  Middletown 

1800—1803.     See  above. 

Hart  &  Willcox  Norwich 

1805—1807.  See  above.  Spoons  marked  H.  &  W.  with 
an  index  hand  preceding  are  common  in  Norwich. 

Hequembourg,  Charles,  Jr.  New  Haven  1760 — 1851 

Born  in  France.  He  was  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution  in 
France.     He    first    appeared    in    New    Haven    in    1804, 

[1001 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT     AND     ITS     MAKERS 

when  he  bought  land.  He  advertised  1809-20.  His 
shop  was  on  Church  Street,  opposite  the  site  of  Trinity 
Church  at  that  time.  Spoons  made  by  him  are  fre- 
quently found  in  New  Haven  County.  His  daughter  mar- 
ried in  1810  James  Brewster,  father  of  carriage  industry 
in  New  Haven. 

Bom        Died 
Hilldrup,  Thomas  Hartford  —1804 

See  page  62. 
Hitchcock,  Eliakim    Cheshire  and  New  Haven    1726—1788 

He  maintained  shops  in  Cheshire  and  New  Haven. 
Advertised  in  New  Haven,  1776.  It  is  said  that  Amos 
Doolittle  was  his  apprentice.  Spoons  made  by  him  are 
found  in  Cheshire.  He  was  one  of  the  charter  members 
of  the  Second  Company,  Governor's  Foot  Guard,  or- 
ganized 1774.  His  shop  in  New  Haven  was  on  Union 
Street,  near  Fair. 

Hobart,  Joshua  New  Haven 

See  Fitch  &  Hobart 

Holmes,  Israel       Greenwich  and  Waterbury       1768 — 1802 
See  page  76. 

Hopkins,  Jesse  Waterbury  1766 — 

Hopkins,  Joseph  Waterbury  1730—1801 

Late  in  life  became  Judge  of  Probate,  and  gave  up  silver- 
smithing. 

Hopkins,  Stephen  Waterbury  1721—1796 

Hotchkiss,  Hezekiah  (?)         New  Haven  — 1761 

Clockmaker,  but  his  inventory  shows  he  owned  silver- 
smith's tools. 

Hughes,  Edmund  Middletown 

In  1804  was  located  in  Hampton.  In  1806  the  partner- 
ship of  Ward  &  Hughes,  Middletown,  was  dissolved. 
Same  year  partnership  of  Hughes  &  Bliss  was  formed, 
and  in  the  following  year  that  of  Hughes  &  Francis. 

Hughes  &  Bliss  Middletown 

1806.     See  above. 

Hughes  &  Francis  Middletown 

1807—1809.     See  above. 
Huntington,  Philip  Norwich  1770—1825 

He  was  town  clerk  from  1801  to  1825. 

[101] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT     AND     ITS     MAKERS 

Born        Died 
Huntington,  Roswell  Norwich  1763 — 

Learned  his  trade  of  Joseph  Carpenter.  In  1784  he  ad- 
vertised as  goldsmith  and  jeweler  in  a  shop  opposite  the 
store  of  Jedediah  Huntington.  Finally  moved  to  Hills- 
borough, N.C. 

Jarvis,  Munson  Stamford  1742—1825 

His  father,  Samuel,  was  a  blacksmith,  and  the  inventory 
of  the  confiscated  estate  of  Munson  shows  that  he  owned 
a  like  shop.  It  is  probable  that  he  worked  in  both  silver 
and  iron.  Two  silver  mugs  owned  by  the  Congregational 
Church,  Green's  Farms,  bear  the  maker's  mark  M.  J.,  and 
were  probably  made  by  him.  He  was  a  Loyalist,  and 
left  the  country  in  1783  and  settled  in  St.  John,  N.B., 
where  he  passed  the  rest  of  his  life.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  Provincial  Assembly  in  New  Brunswick,  and  a  man 
of  prominence. 

Jennings,  Jacob  Norwalk  1729—1817 

The  inventory  of  his  estate  mentions  a  number  of  silver- 
smith's tools. 

Jennings,  Jacob,  Jr.  Norwalk  1779 — 

He  learned  his  trade  of  his  father.  His  nephew,  Isaac 
Marquand,  was  apprenticed  to  him  to  learn  the  trade. 
Frederick  Marquand,  the  well-known  New  York  jeweler 
and  benefactor  of  Yale  College,  was  Isaac's  son. 

Johonnot,  William  Middletown  1766—1849 

In  1782  he  was  apprenticed  to  Samuel  Canfield  for 
five  years.  Began  business  in  1787.  He  advertised 
in  1787—88,  and  stated  that  his  shop  was  opposite  Mrs. 
Bigelow's  tavern.  In  1792  he  moved  to  Windsor,  Vt., 
where  he  carried  on  his  business  of  jeweler  and  silversmith. 

Keeler,  Joseph  Norwalk  1786—1824 

Silversmith  and  watchmaker.  His  inventory  shows  such 
items  as  pivot  lathe,  fusee  cutting  tool,  main-spring 
tool,  small  brass  files,  four  watch-case  stakes,  together 
with  silversmith's  tools,  proving  that,  like  Harland,  he 
actually  made  watches.  Spoons  bearing  his  mark  are 
found  in  Norwalk  and  vicinity. 

Kierstead,  Cornelius  New  Haven       1674— 1753  (?) 

See  page  48. 
King,  Joseph  Middletown 

His    name   and    shop    appear   on    map    of    Middletown, 

made  about  the  period  of  the  Revolution.      Still  living 

there  as  late  as  1807. 

[102] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT     AND     ITS     MAKERS 

Kinney,  Thomas  Norwich 

Was  located  there  first  half  nineteenth  century  on  She- 
tucket  Street. 

Born        Died 

Kippen,  George     Middletown  and  Bridgeport     1790 — 

He  was  born  in  Middletown.  Probably  learned  his 
trade  of  Charles  Brewer.  In  1825  George  Kippen  and 
Elias  Camp,  both  of  Bridgeport,  leased  a  shop  there. 
Later  Kippen  was  in  business  with  Geo.  A.  Hoyt.  Spoons 
are  found  in  Bridgeport  and  vicinity  marked  G.  Kippen 
and  G.  Kippen  &  Hoyt.  The  First  Congregational 
Church,  Bridgeport,  possesses  three  beakers  made  by 
Kippen.  Map  of  Bridgeport,  made  in  1824,  shows  that 
his  shop  was  located  at  the  corner  of  Beaver  Street 
(now  Fairfield  Avenue)  and  Broad  Street.  Kippen  was 
also  in  partnership  with  Barzillai  Benjamin  for  a  time. 

Kirtland,  Joseph  P.  Middletown  1770 — 

Born  in  Norwich.  He  advertised  as  a  silversmith  in 
1796  in  Middletown. 

Lathrop,  Rufus  Norwich  1731—1805 

Lewis,  Isaac        Huntington  and   Ridgefield         1773 — 1860 

Born  in  the  former  place.     In  Ridgefield  as  early  as  1809. 

His    shop   was    probably  on    west  side   of   Main  Street, 

immediately  below  where  the  Episcopal  Church  stands. 

Loud,  Asa  Hartford  1765—1823 

Advertised  in  1792  as  a  silversmith.  In  1793  sold  his 
shop  on  Main  Street  to  James  Spencer.  Was  reported  in 
1807  to  have  absconded. 

Main,  David  Stonington  1752—1843 

Mann,  Alexander  Middletown  1777 — 

Born  in  Hebron.  In  business  a  short  time  with  Charles 
Brewer.         Later  a  gun-maker. 

Mansfield,  Elisha  Hyde  Norwich  1795 — 

See  Coit  &  Mansfield. 
Marble,  Simeon  New  Haven  1777—1856 

About  1801  the  firm  of  Sibley  &  Marble  was  formed. 
They  were  located  at  first  on  Chapel  Street,  and  later  on 
State  Street,  south  of  Chapel  Street.  The  firm  adver- 
tised from  1801  to  1806.  Marble  then  continued  alone. 
Later  he  was  located  on  Church  Street.  At  his  death 
he  left  a  considerable  estate  of  bank  and  railroad  stocks 
and  houses. 

[103] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT    AND     ITS     MAKERS 

Born        Died 

Merriman,  Marcus  New  Haven  1762 — 1850 

Born  in  Cheshire.  He  was  active  in  the  Revolution. 
Served  on  a  privateer,  and  had  many  adventures.  Mem- 
ber during  the  British  invasion  of  New  Haven  in  1779 
of  the  company  of  Captain  Phineas  Bradley.  He  was 
present  at  the  defense  of  West  Bridge,  and  contracted  a 
cold  at  the  time,  from  which  he  never  fully  recovered, 
although  he  lived  to  an  advanced  age.  After  the  war 
he  began  to  practise  his  trade  of  silversmithing.  His 
first  advertisement  appeared  in  1787.  Much  plate  has 
been  found  in  New  Haven  County  bearing  his  trade- 
mark. In  1802  Bethuel  Tuttle  became  his  partner,  and 
they  worked  under  the  name  of  Merriman  &  Tuttle. 
The  same  year  Zebul  Bradley  was  admitted,  and  firm 
became  Marcus  Merriman  &  Co.  In  1817  the  firm  be- 
came Merriman  &  Bradley.     See  page  58. 

Merriman,  Marcus,  Jr.  New  Haven 

Son  of  Marcus  Merriman.  About  1826  he  went  into 
partnership  with  Zebul  Bradley.  Firm  was  known  as 
Bradley  &  Merriman. 

Merriman,  Marcus,  &  Co.      New  Haven 
See  above. 

Merriman  &  Bradley  New  Haven 

See  above. 
Merriman  &  Tuttle  New  Haven 

See  above. 
Merriman,  Reuben  Litchfield  1783 — 1866 

Probably  came  to  Litchfield  in  1827,  for  at  that  time  his 

name  first  appears  on  the  land  records. 

Merriman,  Samuel  New  Haven  1769 — 1805 

Brother  of  Marcus  and  born  in  Cheshire.  First  adver- 
tised in  1794.  At  that  time  his  shop  was  two  doors 
west  of  the  New  College,  Chapel  Street.  In  1800  he 
advertised  that  his  shop  had  been  destroyed  by  a  fire, 
and  that  he  was  then  located  with  his  father  on  State 
Street.  He  next  leased  a  shop  on  Church  Street,  south 
of  Richard  Cutler's  shop. 

Merriman,  Silas  New  Haven  1734—1805 

He  moved  from  Cheshire  to  New  Haven  about  1769, 
and  established  his  home  and  shop  on  State  Street.  He 
not  only  made  silverware,  but  was  also  a  clockmaker. 
He  was  father  of  Marcus  and  Samuel. 

[104] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT     AND     ITS     MAKERS 

Born        Died 

Merrow,  Nathan  East  Hartford        1758—1825 

His  name  appears  on  tax  list  as  goldsmith  in  1783. 

Moss,  Isaac  Nichols  Derby  1760—1840 

Some  of  his  tools  are  preserved  by  a  descendant  living 
in.  Thomaston. 

Munson,  Amos  New  Haven  1753—1785 

He  advertised  in  1776. 

Munson,  Cornelius  Wallingford  1742 — 

A  Tory.     Died  in  British  army. 

Mygatt,  Comfort  Starr  Danbury  1763—1823 

He  was  a  gold  and  silver  smith,  and  also  made  clocks 
and  watches.  He  was  in  partnership  with  his  brother 
David.  In  1804  he  advertised  for  one  or  two  boys  to 
serve  as  apprentices  to  the  gold  and  silver  smith's  clock 
and  watch  making  business.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
General  Assembly  in  1800  and  1802.  In  1807  he  moved 
to  Canfield,  Ohio,  where  he  passed  the  rest  of  his  life. 

Mygatt,  David  Danbury  1777—1822 

He  was  in  partnership  with  his  brother,  Comfort  Starr. 
He  finally  moved  to  South  East,  N.Y. 

Mygatt,  Eli  Danbury  1742—1807 

Father  of  Comfort  Starr  and  David.  Was  first  in  gen- 
eral store  and  drug  business  with  Dr.  Daniel  Noble 
Carrington  as  partner.  They  advertised  in  1793  that 
they  had  gone  into  the  silversmith's  business  with  Najah 
Taylor.  The  shop  and  store  were  on  Main  Street, 
nearly  opposite  where  the  Hotel  Green  now  stands. 
Mygatt  served  in  the  Revolution,  and  was  made  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel in  1778.  He  was  very  prominent  in 
Danbury,  and  represented  the  town  in  the  General  As- 
sembly in  1777,  and  many  times  subsequently,  dying 
while  attending  the  May  session,  1807. 

Newberry,  Edwin  C.  Brooklyn 

He  was  born  in  Mansfield.  Served  his  apprenticeship 
in  Hartford.     Began  business  in  Brooklyn  about  1828. 

Norton,  Andrew  Goshen  1765—1838 

Tavern-keeper  and  silversmith.  A  descendant  living  in 
Goshen  has  some  of  his  smith's  tools. 

[105] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT     AND     ITS     MAKERS 

Born        Died 

Norton,  Thomas  Farmington  1773 — 1834 

Advertised  in  Farmington,  1796 — 1806.  He  moved  to 
Albion,  N.Y.,  where  he  passed  the  rest  of  his  life. 

Noyes,  Samuel  Norwich  1747 — 1781 

Born  in  Groton.  Established  his  business  at  Norwich 
Landing. 

Oakes,  Frederick  Hartford 

In  1814  the  firm  of  Oakes  &  Spencer  advertised.  Prob- 
ably James  Spencer.  Directory  of  1825  shows  that  Oakes 
was  located  three  doors  north  of  Marshall's  tavern, 
which  was  at  northwest  corner  of  State  House  Square. 

Oakes  &  Spencer  Hartford 

See  above. 

Olmsted,  Nathaniel  1785—1860 

Farmington  and  New  Haven 
Born  in  East  Hartford.  He  learned  his  trade  of  Daniel 
Burnap,  of  East  Windsor.  He  built  a  house  in  Farming- 
ton  in  1808,  and  began  business  there.  He  married 
Phidelia  Burnap,  a  niece  of  Burnap,  the  silversmith. 
In  1826  he  moved  to  New  Haven,  to  be  near  his 
brother,  Professor  Denison  Olmsted,  of  Yale.  His 
shop  was  then  on  north  side  of  Chapel  Street,  four  doors 
east  of  the  bank  at  No.  127.  In  1847  the  Directory 
gives  the  location  of  N.  Olmsted  &  Son,  jewelers  and 
silversmiths,  as  37  Olive  Street. 

Otis,  Jonathan  1723—1791 

Newport,  R.I.,  and  Middletown 
Commander   of   the  militia   in   Newport,   and   bore  the 
title  of  Major.     See  page  65. 

Parmele,  James  Durham  1763 — 1828 

Silverware  and  gold  beads  made  by  him  are  found  in 
Durham,  and  his  tools  are  preserved  by  his  great-grand- 
daughter, who  lives  in  Parmele's  homestead. 

Parmele,  Samuel  Guilford  1737—1803 

See  page  70. 

Peabody,  John  Enfield 

Advertised  in  1779. 

[106] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT     AND     ITS     MAKERS 

Born  Died 
Peck,  Timothy  Middletown  and  Litchfield  1765—1818 
Born  in  Litchfield.  In  1791  he  advertised  that  he  was 
about  to  leave  Middletown,  and  recommended  to  the 
public  Antipas  Woodward,  who  had  purchased  his  shop 
under  the  printing-office.  About  that  date  he  settled 
in  Litchfield,  and  his  shop  was  immediately  west  of  the 
Court  House,  in  a  brick  building  he  had  erected  or  pur- 
chased. He  carried  on  the  silversmith  business  there, 
and  was  also  interested  in  a  paper-mill  and  a  saw-mill 
located  in  that  town. 

Pitkin,  John  O.  East  Hartford        1803—1891 

Born  in  East  Hartford,  son  of  Captain  John.  With  his 
brother  Walter  began  the  manufacture  of  silverware  in 
1826  in  a  shop  west  of  his  father's  house.  In  1834  this 
business  was  extended,  and  a  branch  was  established  in 
Vicksburg,  Tenn.,  which  was  successful  until  the 
financial  panic  of  1837.  Shortly  afterwards  it  was  aban- 
doned. In  1834  their  brothers,  Henry  and  James  F., 
began  to  manufacture  the  "American  Lever  Watch" 
in  a  shop  erected  for  the  purpose,  north  of  their  father's 
dwelling.  The  silver  business  of  John  0.  and  Walter 
was  soon  moved  to  the  same  shop.  Forty  workmen 
were  employed,  and  the  products  were  sold  principally  at 
the  store  of  the  Pitkins,  near  Exchange  Corner  in  Hart- 
ford. The  watch  business  was  later  moved  to  New  York. 
Nelson  Pitkin  Stratton,  who  learned  the  trade  of  making 
watches  in  this  factory,  went  to  Waltham,  Mass.,  and 
was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Waltham  Watch  Com- 
pany. The  manufacture  of  silverware  was  continued 
in  the  building  in  East  Hartford  until  it  was  destroyed 
by  fire  in  1880,  although  John  O.  retired  from  the  business 
in  1840,  which  was  continued  by  his  brother  Walter.  Of 
another  branch  of  the  family,  also  of  East  Hartford 
origin,  were  Horace  E.  and  William  L.  Pitkin.  They 
were  of  much  later  date,  and  manufactured  silverware 
in  Hartford. 

Pitkin,  Walter  East  Hartford        1808—1885 

See  John  O.  Pitkin. 

Post,  Samuel  New  London  1736 — 

Advertised  1783-84.  Went  South  at  the  end  of  the 
eighteenth  century  and  not  heard  of  again.  Perhaps 
was  a  partner  of  William  Cleveland  for  a  time.  Silver  is 
found  in  New  London  marked  C  &  P. 

[107] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT     AND     ITS     MAKERS 

Born        Died 

Potwine,  John  1698—1792 

Boston,  Hartford,  East  Windsor,  and  Coventry. 
Born  in  Boston,  and  followed  his  trade  there  until  1737. 
His  shop  was  in  Newbury  Street.  He  followed  his 
trade  for  a  while  in  Hartford  after  1737,  and  later  ran 
a  general  merchandise  store  there  and  in  East  Windsor 
and  Coventry.  A  great-great-grandson  lives  in  Scantic, 
and  preserves  his  account  book  and  a  number  of  relics 
connected  with  the  old  smith.  His  account  book,  dated 
principally  in  1752,  shows  dealings  with  Daniel  Hench- 
man, the  silversmith  of  Boston.  He  died  in  Scantic, 
where  for  many  years  his  son  was  pastor  of  the  Congre- 
gational Church.     See  page  49. 

Pratt,  Nathan  Essex  1772—1842 

Son  of  Phineas  Pratt,  the  silversmith.  The  Masonic 
jewels  in  the  lodge-room  in  Essex  were  made  by  Nathan 
about  the  year  1811. 

Pratt,  Nathan,  Jr.  Essex  1802— 

Son  of  Nathan  Pratt,  silversmith,  of  whom  he  learned  the 
trade.     Later  devoted  himself  to  the  ivory  comb  business. 

Pratt,  Phineas  Westbrook  and  Lyme        1747—1813 

Born  in  Westbrook.  Served  in  the  Revolution.  In 
1772  he  advertised  that  his  silversmith  shop  in  Lyme 
was  for  sale.  He  was  associated  with  David  Bushnell, 
inventor  of  the  "American  Turtle,"  or  first  torpedo 
boat,  giving  him  material  assistance.  The  house  in 
which  Bushnell  carried  on  his  experiments  is  still  stand- 
ing on  Corban  Point,  Old  Saybrook.  In  1799  Pratt  took 
out  a  patent  for  a  machine  he  had  invented  for  making 
ivory  combs,  the  first  invention  of  the  kind,  and  the 
business  resulting  from  it  grew  into  a  large  industry. 
He  had  great  mechanical  talent.  He  was  deacon  of  the 
Congregational  Church  in  Westbrook. 

Pratt,  Seth  Lyme  1741—1802 

Served  in  the  Revolution. 


Prince,  Job  Milford 

Born    probably    in    Hull,  Mass.,  about    1680.     Died    in 
Milford,  c.  1703.     See  page  46. 

[108] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT     AND     ITS     MAKERS 

Born        Died 

Quintard,  Peter  New  York  and  Norwalk  1699—1762 
Son  of  Isaac  Quintard  and  born  in  New  York.  He  was 
registered  there  as  freeman  and  goldsmith,  1731.  Land 
was  transferred  to  him  in  1722  on  south  side  of 
Maiden  Lane,  with  a  frontage  of  21  feet.  Moved  to 
Norwalk  about  1737.  His  inventory  taken  at  his  death 
gives  the  following  items:  all  the  goldsmith's  tools, 
£35;  2  necklaces  of  gold  beads,  £5-12;  7  gold  rings, 
£3-3;  2  pairs  gold  jewels,  £1-2;  2  pairs  silver  buckles, 
£2-10;  6  silver  spoons,  £1-3;  2  sleeve  buttons,  £0-11; 
1  silver  tongs,  £0-3-9;  6  large  silver  spoons,  £4-0-0; 
4  gold  stone  rings,  £2-13-4;  house  lot,  barn,  and  shop, 
£230-3.     See  page  50. 

Reed,  Isaac  Stamford  1746 — 

Born  in  New  Canaan.  He  was  living  in  Stamford  in 
1776,  and  was  making  clocks,  silverware,  and  jewelry. 
He  was  a  Tory  and  was  obliged  to  migrate  to  Nova 
Scotia  during  the  war.  Returned  to  Stamford  about 
1790. 

Roath,  Roswell  Walsten  Norwich  1805— 

In  business  in  1826,  in  which  year  advertised  his  shop 
as  at  the  corner  of  Main  and  Shetucket  Streets.  Later 
moved  to  Denver,  Col.,  where  he  died. 

Rockwell,  Thomas  Norwalk  — 1795 

Inventory  of  his  estate  shows  he  was  watchmaker  and 
silversmith. 

Rogers,  Joseph  Newport,  R.I.,  and  Hartford  — 1825 

Brother  of  Daniel  Rogers,  silversmith,  of  Newport:  both  ap- 
prentices and  later  partners  of  John  Tanner  of  Newport.  In 
1803  Joseph  moved  to  Hartford.  House  and  shop  corner  of 
Trumbull  and  Pratt  Streets.  Silver  marked  I  R  and  J  R 
has  been  found  in  Newport. 

Rogers,  William  Hartford  1801—1873 

Was  apprenticed  to  Joseph  Church.  Became  a  partner 
in  1825.  In  1828  was  in  business  alone.  About  1847 
began  to  manufacture  plated  spoons  and  forks.  This 
venture  grew  into  a  large  business,  and  with  his  brothers 
he  later  established  the  well-known  trade- mark,  1847 
Rogers  Bros. 

Russell,  Jonathan  Ashford  1770 — 

Advertised  in  1804  that  he  was  carrying  on  his  business 
in  the  East  Society  of  Ashford. 

[109] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT     AND     ITS     MAKERS 

Born        Died 

Sadd,  Hervey  New  Hartford        1776—1840 

Born  in  East  Windsor.  His  old  red  house  is  still  stand- 
ing. North  of  it,  and  situated  near  a  brook  whence  he 
had  water  power,  he  built  his  shop.  Here  he  made  silver 
spoons  and  other  articles,  and  later  he  established  an  iron 
foundry  where  he  made  stoves,  pots,  and  kettles.  In 
1829  he  moved  to  Austinburg,  Ohio,  where  he  spent  the 
remainder  of  his  life.  One  of  the  silver  communion  cups 
belonging  to  the  Congregational  Church  in  East  Hart- 
ford was  made  by  Sadd. 

Sanford,  Isaac  Hartford 

An  advertisement  in  1785  states  that  the  firm  of  Beach 
&  Sanford  has  moved  from  Litchfield  to  Hartford,  and 
proposes  to  carry  on  engraving,  clock  and  watch  making, 
and  silversmithing.  As  early  as  1783  and  as  late  as  1822 
an  Isaac  Sanford  was  living  in  Hartford  who  was  a 
miniature  painter  and  engraver,  and  possibly  the  same 
man  as  the  silversmith.  In  1812  he  was  in  England, 
where  he  was  granted  a  patent  for  making  tile.  In  1824 
he  was  living  in  Providence,  R.I. 

Sargeant,  Jacob  Mansfield  and  Hartford  1761 — 1843 
Born  in  Mansfield.  About  1785  he  moved  to  Hartford, 
and  was  successful  in  his  business.  It  is  said  that  Joseph 
Church  learned  his  trade  of  Sargeant.  His  store  and 
shop  were  at  No.  10  State  Street,  next  door  to  the  old 
United  States  Hotel.  The  Directory  of  1838  shows  that 
he  was  located  at  229  Main  Street.  He  left  a  consider- 
able estate  for  the  times.  Clocks  bearing  his  name 
are  found  in  Connecticut. 

Shethar,  Samuel  Litchfield  and  New  Haven 

In  1801  he  was  in  business  with  Isaac  Thomson  in  Litch- 
field. In  1806  he  was  in  business  in  New  Haven  with 
Richard  Gorham.  He  was  probably  living  in  Litchfield 
in  1810. 

Shethar  &  Gorham  New  Haven 

See  above. 

Shethar  &  Thomson  Litchfield 

See  above. 

Shipman,  Nathaniel  Norwich  1764 — 1853 

Learned  his  trade  of  Thomas  Harland.  In  1790  he 
advertised  for  sale  watches,  clocks,  and  a  general  assort- 
ment of  goldsmith's  work.  He  was  a  representative  from 
Norwich  to  the  General  Assembly  many  times,  and  was 
judge  of  the  County  Court  and  Probate  Court.  The 
late  Judge  Nathaniel  Shipman  was  his  grandson. 

[110] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT     AND     ITS     MAKERS 

Born        Died 

Sibley,  Clark  New  Haven  1778—1808 

Member  of  firm  Sibley  &  Marble,  1801-06,  situated  on 

Church    Street,    next  north  of   the  location    of   Trinity 

Church  at  that  time. 

Sibley  &  Marble  New  Haven 

See  above. 

Silliman,  Hezekiah  New  Haven  1738 — 

In  1767  Richard  Cutler,  Hezekiah  Silliman  &  Ambrose 
Ward  &  Company  advertised  that  "they  are  gold- 
smiths and  jewellers  in  New  Haven  and  beg  leave  to 
inform  the  publick  that  at  their  respective  shops  in 
said  New  Haven,  they  severally  continue  to  do  all  sorts 
of  Gold  and  Silver  Work  both  large  and  small:  likewise 
the  Jewelling  Business  in  all  its  Branches." 

Skinner,  Elizer  Hartford  — 1858 

In  1826  advertised  that  his  shop  was  at  the  head  of 
Ferry  Street. 

Smith,  Ebenezer  Brookfield 

Latter  half  of  eighteenth  century  was  working  at  his  trade 
on  Whiscomer  Hill. 

Spencer,  George  Essex  1787—1878 

In  1801  he  was  apprenticed  to  Nathan  Pratt  "to  learn 
the  art  and  mystery  of  the  trade  of  goldsmithing."  After 
a  time  he  gave  up  the  trade  and  began  to  manufacture 
ivory  combs  in  Deep  River,  in  which  he  did  a  successful 
business. 

Spencer,  James  Hartford 

In  1793  bought  the  silversmith  shop  of  Asa  Loud.  Prob- 
ably partner  later  of  Frederick  Oakes. 

Staniford,  John  Windham 

In  business  there  late  in  the  eighteenth  century. 

Stanton,  Daniel  Stonington  1755—1781 

He  served  for  a  time  during  the  Revolution  on  the  priva- 
teer "Minerva,"  which  captured  the  British  merchant 
ship  "Hannah."  In  his  share  of  the  prize  was  a  beau- 
ful  brocaded  silk  dress,  which,  on  his  return,  he  presented 
to  his  affianced  bride  as  a  wedding  gift.  They  were 
expecting  soon  to  be  marriedj  but  death  prevented. 
He  was  killed  in  the  defense  of  Fort  Griswold  at  Groton. 

Stanton,  Enoch  Stonington  1745—1781 

Killed  in  the  defense  of  Fort  Griswold  at  Groton. 

[HI] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT     AND     ITS     MAKERS 

Born        Died 

Stanton,  Zebulon  Stonington  1753—1828 

Brother  of  Enoch.  His  house,  with  shop  in  adjoining  ell, 
is  still  standing. 

Stiles,  Benjamin  Woodbury 

See  Curtiss,  Candee  &  Stiles. 

Sutton,  Robert  New  Haven 

In  business  early  part  of  nineteenth  century. 

Terry,  Geer  Enfield  1775—1858 

He  was  quite  prominent  in  Enfield,  being  postmaster 
for  a  time  and  filling  many  offices  of  trust.  For  a  while 
he  lived  in  Worcester,  Mass.,  where  he  continued  to  prac- 
tise his  trade  of  silversmithing.  He  advertised  in  En- 
field in  1814. 

Thomson,  Isaac  Litchfield 

In  February,  1801,  he  bought  a  house  and  lot  sixty  rods 
north  of  the  Court  House.  1801 — 1805  was  in  part- 
nership with  Samuel  Shethar. 

Tiley,  James  Hartford  1740—1792 

See  page  61. 

Tompkins,  Edmund  Waterbury  1757 — 

Advertised  in  1779. 

Tracy,  Erastus  Norwich  and  New  London  1768 — 1795 
Advertised  in  Norwich  in  1790.  After  1792  moved  to 
New  London.     Brother  of  Gurdon  Tracy. 

Tracy,  Gurdon  New  London  1767 — 1792 

Born  in  Norwich.  Advertised  there  in  1787.  In  1791 
he  bought  a  plot  of  ground  in  New  London,  20  x  14  feet, 
on  which  his  shop  stood.  The  inventory  of  his  estate 
lists  a  number  of  silversmith's  tools.  He  was  brother 
of  Erastus. 

Trott,  John  Proctor  New  London  1769—1852 

Son  of  Jonathan  Trott.  He  was  a  man  of  prominence 
in  the  community.  The  output  of  his  shop  was  con- 
siderable. Silver  bearing  his  mark  is  frequently  found 
in  New  London  and  vicinity,  both  hollow  and  flat  ware. 
His  house  stood  on  the  site  of  the  present  Mohican 
Hotel.  His  shop  was  on  State  Street,  between  No.  138 
and  Bank  Street.     See  page  75. 

[112] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT     AND     ITS     MAKERS 

Born        Died 

Trott,  Jonathan  1730—1815 

Boston,  Norwich,  and  New  London 
The  Connecticut  Gazette,  under  date  of  January  2, 
1784,  has  the  following:  "Jonathan  Trott,  Innholder, 
Norwich,  gives  notice  of  the  meeting  of  the  New  London 
County  Medical  Society,  December  18th,  1783:  meeting 
postponed  by  adjournment  to  January,  1784."  For 
further  notes  on  his  life  see  page  75. 

Trott,  Jonathan,  Jr.  New  London  1771—1813 

Son  of  Jonathan  Trott.  In  an  advertisement  in  1800 
he  "informs  the  publick  that  he  carries  on  the  business 
of  a  Gold  and  Silversmith  at  his  shop  two  doors  north 
of  J.  &  A.  Woodward's,  Beach  Street."     See  page  75. 

Trott  &  Brooks  New  London 

Advertised  in  1798.     See  John  Proctor  Trott. 

Trott  &  Cleveland  New  London 

Advertised  in  1792.  See  John  Proctor  Trott  and  Wil- 
liam Cleveland. 

Tuttle,  Bethuel  New  Haven  1779—1813 

Member  of  firm  Merriman  &  Tuttle,  1802-1806. 
1806-1813,  member  of  firm  Marcus  Merriman  &  Co. 

Tuttle,  William  New  Haven  and  Suffield  1800—1849 
Son  of  Bethuel.  Some  time  before  his  death  he  moved 
to  Suffield. 

Ufford  &  Burdick  New  Haven 

Advertised  in   1814.     See  William  S.  Burdick. 

Walworth,  Daniel  Middletown  1760—1830 

Born  in  Groton.  He  advertised  in  1785  and  subse- 
quently. 

Ward,  Ambrose  New  Haven  1735—1808 

See  Hezekiah  Silliman. 
Ward,  Billious  Guilford  1729—1777 

See  page  69. 
Ward,  James  Hartford  1768—1856 

See  page  60. 

Ward  &  Bartholomew  Hartford 

1804-09.     See  James  Ward  and  Roswell  Bartholomew. 

[113] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT     AND     ITS     MAKERS 

Ward,  Bartholomew  &  Brainard      Hartford 
1809-1830.     See  above  and  Charles  Brainard. 

Ward,  John  Middletown 

Advertised  in  1805  that  he  had  "taken  the  shop  formerly- 
occupied  by  Judah  Hart  where  he  will  carry  on  gold  and 
silversmithing  in  all  its  branches."  Later  formed  a 
partnership  with  Edmund  Hughes  under  name  of 

Ward  &  Hughes     Dissolved  1806. 

Born        Died 

Ward,  Timothy  Middletown  1742—1768 

Son  of  Captain  James  Ward.     See  page  64. 

Ward,  William  Litchfield  1736—1826 

Born  in  New  Haven. 

Ward,  William  Guilford  1705—1761 

Father  of  Billious  Ward.  Blacksmith  and  silversmith. 
The  inventory  of  his  estate  shows  that  he  owned  tools 
for  working  in  iron  and  other  metals.  Rat-tailed  spoons 
have  been  found  in  Guilford  and  vicinity  marked  W.  W. 
and  W.  WARD. 

Wardin,  Daniel  Bridgeport 

Advertised  in  1811. 
Welles,  Andrew  Hebron  1783—1860 

He  bore  the  title  of  General.     The  writer  owns  a  number 

of  his  silversmith's  tools. 

Wells,  William  Hartford  1766— 

His  name  appears  as  silversmith  in  Directory  for  1828. 

White,  Amos  East  Haddam  and  Meriden  1745—1825 
Silversmith  and  sea-captain.  Served  in  the  Revolution. 
The  latter  part  of  his  life  was  spent  in  Meriden. 

White,  Peregrine  Woodstock  1747—1834 

Bought  land  in  Woodstock  in  1774  for  purposes  of  clock- 
making.  He  also  made  silver  spoons.  A  number  of 
fine  clocks  bearing  his  name  as  maker  have  been  found 
in  southern  New  England. 

White,  Peter  Norwalk  1718—1803 

Built  a  silversmith  shop  in  1738. 
Whiting,  Charles  Norwich  1725—1865 

He  built  a  shop  in  Norwich  about  1750. 

[114] 


EARLY     SILVER     OF     CONNECTICUT     AND     ITS     MAKERS 

Born        Died 
Willcox,  Alvan         Norwich  and  New  Haven         1783—1865 

Born  in  Berlin.  For  two  or  three  years,  viz.,  1805-07, 
he  was  a  member  of  firm  Hart  &  Willcox.  For  a  while 
he  lived  in  New  Jersey.  In  1824  he  was  living  in  New 
Haven,  and  his  shop  was  at  southwest  corner  of  Church 
and  Chapel  Streets,  where  a  number  of  early  silver- 
smiths were  located  before  him  and  E.  Benjamin  sub- 
sequently. His  name  appears  in  New  Haven  Directory 
for  1841 — first  issued — as  silver-worker,  in  1850  as  gold 
and  silver  thimble  and  spectacle  maker,  and  in  1857  he 
is  called  a  "silver-plater." 

Willcox,  Cyprian  New  Haven  1795—1875 

Brother  of  Alvan.  Born  in  Berlin.  In  1827  he  was  a 
silversmith  in  New  Haven.  Later  he  was  an  iron  founder, 
at  one  time  at  the  foot  of  Whitney  Avenue  and  later  on 
North  State  Street,  not  far  from  East  Rock.  The  late 
H.  B.  Bigelow  succeeded  to  his  iron  business.  For 
several  years  he  was  First  Selectman  of  New  Haven, 
and  during  the  years  1855-56-57  he  was  Judge  of  Pro- 
bate.    He  died  in  Ithaca,  N.Y. 

Williams,  Deodat  Hartford  —1781 

In  1776  he  advertised  "has  set  up  his  business  in  a  room 
under  the  Printing  Office  where  he  makes  and  sells  Ladies' 
Necklaces,  Lockets,  Ear  Rings  and  Hair  Sprigs,  Silver 
Shoe  and  Kneebuckles,  Stock  Buckles,  Stone  Shoe  But- 
tons, Stone  and  Silver  Broaches  and  a  variety  of  other 
articles.  Officers  Silver  Mounted  Hangers  with  either 
lions,  eagles,  painters  or  plain  heads,  etc.'* 

Wilmot,  Samuel  New  Haven  1777—1846 

He  advertised  in  1808.  In  1800  an  advertisement  states 
he  is  a  member  of  the  firm. 

Wilmot  &  Stillman  New  Haven 

Woodward,  Antipas  Middletown  1763 — 

See  page  65. 

Yeomans,  Elijah  Hartford  1738—1794 

Born  in  Tolland.     Advertised  in  Hartford,  1794. 

Young,  Ebenezer  Hebron 

He  advertised  in  1778-80. 

Young,  Levi  Bridgeport 

He  advertised  in  1827  as  opposite  the  shop  of  Peck  & 
Porter  on  Water  Street. 

[1151 


u 


NOTE 

The  writer  wishes  to  express  his 
appreciation  to  those  who  have  sent 
him  the  names  of  many  early  Con- 
necticut silversmiths  in  the  alphabet- 
ical list.  His  thanks  are  particularly 
due  to  Mrs.  ElishaEdgerton  Rogers, 
of  Norwich,  and  Mrs.  C.  H. 
Brush,  of  Danbury,  who  have  ren- 
dered great  help  in  discovering  the 
names  of  early  craftsmen  in 
the  eastern  and  western  parts  of 
the  state  respectively. 


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Jewels  owned  by  St.  John's  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  Masons,  Middle- 
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Made  by  Nathan  Pratt  about  1811 

Plate  xxxiii. 


University  of 
Connecticut 

Libraries 


39153021051976 


